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i 


BV  3503 

.M6 

Morrison 

.  J. 

H. 

b. 

1872 

The  missionary 

heroes  of    I 

Africa 

/>' 


THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES 
OF  AFRICA 

J.  H.  MORRISON,  M.A. 


THE 

MISSIONARY    HEROES 

OF   AFRICA 


BY  j 


J.  H.  MORRISON,  M.A. 

Author  of  "Streams   in   the   Desert,"   "On  the 
Trail  of  the   Pioneers,"  etc. 


NEW  ^■r    YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


i  7^ 


COPYRIGHT,    1922, 
BY  GEORGE    H.   DORAN    COMPANY 


THE   MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF   AFRICA.  E 


PRINTED   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES   OF   AMERICA 


TO 

THE  UNNAMED  HEROES 

WHO    HAVE   GIVEN    THEIR   LIVES 
FOR  THE   REDEMPTION   OF   AFRICA 


PREFACE 

It  is  no  easy  task  to  determine  what  names  should 
stand  in  the  front  rank  of  the  Missionary  Heroes  of 
Africa.  In  making  his  selection  the  present  writer  has 
at  least  the  consolation  of  believing  that  while  many, 
doubtless,  would  desire  some  honored  name  to  be 
added,  few  would  wish  any  name  on  the  list  to  be 
displaced. 

The  following  sketches  are  offered  in  the  hope  that, 
brief  and  imperfect  as  they  are,  they  may  serve  to 
communicate  some  spark  of  that  divine  fire  which 
burns  in  all  heroic  lives,  and  nowhere  clearer  than  in 
the  lives  of  Christlike  and  Apostolic  men.  In  the 
hope,  also,  that  they  may  aid  the  imagination  in  form- 
ing some  picture  of  the  marvelously  varied  and  roman- 
tic scenery  of  the  African  mission  field. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I:  THE  DARK  CONTINENT  BE- 
FORE THE  DAWN 


i:       MOHAMMEDAN  AFRICA 

II :       PAGAN  AFRICA   .    ^ 

Ill:       THE    HAND    OF   EUROPE       ...... 

IV  :      THE  COMING  OF  THE  MISSIONARY      . 

/ 

CHAPTER     H:     ROBERT     MOFFAT,     MIS- 
SIONARY  PIONEER      .     .     . 

i:       A    SCOTS    GARDENER 
II :      THE    INFANT    COLONY 
III:       TAMING   A    FREEBOOTER       . 
IV :      THE    ROMANCE    OF    KURUMAN 
V:      THE    MATABELE 

MOFFAT    AND    LIVINGSTONE 
FAREWELL   TO    KURUMAN 
A  MISSIONARY  TO  THE  LAST 


VI 

VII 

VIII 


\y 


CHAPTER      III:      DAVID      LIVINGSTONE, 
MISSIONARY  EXPLORER      . 


i:  BLANTYRE     MILL     . 

II :  THE    VALLEY    OF    MABOTSA 

III:  THE  ROAD  TO  THE   NORTH 

IV :  CROSSING   THE    CONTINENT 

V:      DISCOURAGED  AND  LIONISED 

ix 


PAGE 

15 

15 
16 

22 
25 

28 
28 
31 

33 
37 
41 
44 
49 
51 

54 

54 
56 

59 

64 

72 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  III  [Continued] 

VI  :       FIVE    YEARS    ON    THE   ZAMBESI 


VII  : 

VIII 

IX 

X 

XI 


THE    SLAVE    TRADE 

SEVEN    YEARS    OF   WANDERING 

STANLEY „ 

THE   LONG  LAST   MILE 

HOME 


CHAPTER    IV:    JOHN    MACKENZIE 
SIONARY  STATESMAN     .     .     ., 


I 

II 
III 

IV 
V 


MIS- 


THE   ELGIN   APPRENTICE    . 
THE    RESOLVED    MAN     . 
FOLLOWING    UP    LIVINGSTONE 
THE    MAKOLOLO    DISASTER 

IN  khama's  country     . 

VI  :      WHEN   BLACK    MEETS   WHITE 
VII :       THE  BATTLE   FOR  BECHUANALAND 

VIII :     "among  god's  little  ones,  content 

/ 

V 

CHAPTER  V:  STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE 
I :    A  son  of  the  disruption     . 

II :  with  LIVINGSTONE  ON  THE  ZAMBESI 

III:  THE    BUILDER    OF    LOVEDALE     , 

IV :  THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE   FINGOES         ..       r 

V:  THE  BIRTH   OF  LIVINGSTONIA 

VI :  THE   TRIUMPH    OF   LOVEDALE         ^       « 

VII :  THE  FOUNDING  OF   KIKUYU    .        .       >« 

VIII :    "without  were  fightings" 
IX :    "god  is  not  dead'* 


PAGE 

74 

78 

79 

83 

86 
87 


90 

90 

92 

94 

95 

99 
106 

108 

112 

117 

117 
119 
123 
128 
130 
132 

137 
138 
141 


CONTENTS 


XI 


CHAPTER  VI /laws  OF  LIVINGSTONIA 

i:  HENRY    DRUMMOND's    HERO     . 

II :  DEDICATED    FROM    BIRTH     ...,., 

Ill:  UP  THE  ZAMBESI  TO  LAKE  NYASA       . 

IV :  THE  BEACON   AT    CAPE   MACLEAR 

V  :  OVER  THE  GRAVES  OF  THE  FALLEN      . 

VI :  TOIL  AND  TRIAL  AT   BANDAWE       .       .. 

VII :  A    MARVELOUS   TRANSFORMATION 

VIII :  THE    CROWNING    YEARS       .... 

IX :  THE   LEGACIES    OF   WAR       .... 


CHAPTER  Vn :  MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  . 


i: 

II : 

hi; 

IV 
V 

VI ; 
VII : 

VIII 

IX 

X 


stanley  s  letter 

a  missionary  engineer 

"poor  moses" 

INTO   THE  lion's   MOUTH 

for  the  soul  of  a  king  . 
"great  news" 
a  royal  funeral 


MWANGA,    THE   PERSECUTOR    . 
"the  UNIVERSE  IS  GOd's" 
"the    best    MISSIONARY    SINCE 

stone" 


LIVING- 


CHAPTER  Vni:  GRENFELL  OF  THE 
CONGO  

I :      FROM  CORNWALL  TO  THE  CAMEROONS      . 

II  :      THE  GIANT   CONGO 

Ill :       PIONEERING  IN  THE  PeaCC       .... 


PAGE 
142 

142 
147 

163 
168 

171 
171 
172 

176 
179 
182 
184 
186 
190 

193 


197 

197 

202 
204 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VIII  [Continued]  pj,g. 

IV :      THE   BELGIAN    OCTOPUS 20g 

V :      SORROWS  PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE      .       .       .  2X2 

VI :      THE   JOY   O^   HARVEST 215 

VII :     "the  death  of  Tata  finished"     .     .  218 

CHAPTER  IX:    'COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAM- 
BESI         ,     .     .  219 

i:    a  son  of  the  huguenots    ....  219 

11:       life    in    BASUTOLAND  .....  221 

III  :       WAR  AND  exile 223 

IV :      REVIVAL 224 

v:     "with   such   an   escort   we   can   go 

anywhere" 226 

VI :     among  the  barotsi 232 

VII  :      AFRICAN    royalty 234 

VIII :     "that  delicious  rain" 236 

IX :    THE  wedge  of  the  gospel    ....  237 

X :     rest 241 

CHAPTER  X:  MARYSLESSOR  OF  CALA- 
BAR      243 

i:     AN  extraordinary  factory  lassie     .  243 

II :     IN  dark  calabar 247 

hi:     "blessed  with  an  efik  mouth"    .      .  250 

iv :     settled  among  savages       ....  253 

v:     essential  justice 258 

vi :    the  church   of  christ  in  okoyong  260 

vii  :     the  pioneer  of  the  enyong  creek     .  262 

VIII  :       "the     HAPPIEST     WOMAN     IN     ALL    THE 

world"        265 


THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES 
OF  AFRICA 


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EGYPT 


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SAHAR>\ 


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SUDAN 


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UGANDAA 


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TANGANYIKA 
TERRITORY 


BRITI  5H 
EAST  AFRICA 


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MAP  OF  AFRICA 

Showing   the   inissionary  stations  whore   tliosc 
heroes  of  Africiin  missions  hibored. 


THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES 
OF  AFRICA 

CHAPTER  I 

THE   DARK    CONTINENT   BEFORE   THE   DAWN 

All  Gaul,  as  Csesar  says,  is  divided  into  three  parts. 
All  Africa  may  be  divided  into  two.  These  are  the 
Northern  and  the  Southern  halves  of  the  continent, 
which  are  found  to  differ  widely  both  in  history  and 
in  religion. 

I :  Mohammedan  Africa 

From  the  earliest  times  North  Africa  played 
a  conspicuous  part  in  the  ancient  world  which  centred 
round  the  Mediterranean.  The  names  of  Egypt 
and  Carthage  are  a  sufficient  reminder  to  us  of  that. 
Accordingly  it  was  among  the  first  countries  to  be 
evangelised,  and  in  the  early  Christian  centuries  the 
vigorous  Churches  of  North  Africa  produced  men 
like  Augustine  and  Tertullian,  Clement  and  Origen, 
Of  these  ancient  churches  only  a  wretched  remnant 
survives  in  Abyssinia. 

In  the  seventh  century  the  tide  of  Islam,  which 
flowed  north  over  the  churches  of  Asia,  flowed  also 

15 


16      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

westward  and  swept  away  the  Christianity  of  North 
Africa.  Since  then  the  Mohammedan  faith  has  more 
than  maintained  its  ground  in  Africa.  It  has  grad- 
ually spread  southward,  down  the  east  coast  to  Zan- 
zibar, across  the  Sudan  to  the  Niger  and  the  Gulf  of 
Guinea,  until  to-day  it  dominates  half  the  continent. 
No  doubt  it  is  fitted  to  give  to  savage  tribes  a  certain 
moral  and  religious  uplift,  but  its  cast  iron  system 
blocks  all  farther  progress  and  makes  its  converts  less 
accessible  to  the  Gospel  than  before.  In  Mohammedan 
Africa  Christian  missions  have  made  little  progress 
to  speak  of,  and  our  concern  is  therefore  with  pagan 
Africa  which  forms  the  central  and  southern  half  of  the 
continent.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that 
Islam  is  still  a  living  and  missionary  force,  and  part 
of  the  urgency  of  African  evangelisation  lies  in  this, 
that  if  the  advance  of  the  Cross  be  delayed  the  Crescent 
may  take  possession  of  the  whole  field. 

II:  Pagan  Africa 

In  the  15th  century  bold  voyagers  had  begun  to 
venture  down  the  west  coast,  and  before  the  close  of 
the  century  they  had  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
From  this  time  forward  an  increasing  volume  of  trade 
was  carried  on  with  Africa,  and  settlements  were 
planted  along  the  coasts,  west,  south  and  east.  Noth- 
ing, however,  was  known  as  yet  of  the  interior,  which 
remained  a  blank  on  the  map  till  the  19th  century. 
^"  It  was  vaguely  conceived  as  a  vast  and  inhospitable 
desert.  Only  through  the  travels  of  David  Living- 
stone and  other  explorers  were  its  natural  features,  its 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT  BEFORE  DAWN     17  : 

i 

lakes  and  river  systems,  made  known  to  the  world.  j 

It  was  then  discovered  that  the  interior  of  Africa  con- 
sists of  a  vast,  undulating  plateau,  having  a  climate  j 
very  different  from  that  of  the  low,  swampy  coast-  j 
land,  much  of  it  very  fertile,  much  of  it  suitable  for 
European  colonisation.  i 
Pagan  Africa  is  mainly  inhabited  by  two  races  of  ; 
coloured  people,  the  Negroes  and  the  Bantus.     Besides  ! 
these  another  race  may  be  mentioned,  though  numeri-  < 
cally  insignificant,  namely  the  Hottentots  and  Bushmen. 
These  lived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cape  Town  and  - 
the   districts   to   the   north,   consequently  they   figure  ; 
somewhat  prominently  in  early  colonial  and  missionary  < 
history.    Probably  they  are  a  remnant  of  the  aboriginal  ' 
inhabitants  of  Africa  who  have  been  driven  south  by  \ 
the  incoming  of  stronger  tribes.     The  Bushmen  are  ; 
almost  if  not  quite  extinct.     They  were  pigmies  with  i 
light  coloured  skin,  and  in  their  habits  pure  nomads. 
Wondering  continually  about,  trapping  game,  carry- 
ing off  cattle,  and  shooting  man  and  beast  with  their  ' 
poisoned  arrows,  they  were  regarded  by  colonists  and  ; 
natives  alike,  as  vermin  to  be  exterminated.   Their  kins- 
men, the  Hottentots,  were  more  settled  in  their  habits,  ' 

...  I 
and  have  gradually  become   intermingled  with  other 

tribes'.    It  is  undoubtedly  from  the  Bushmen  and  Hot-  | 

tentot  language  that  certain  of  the  southern  Bantu  tribes  j 

have  borrowed  those  curious  little  explosives  in  speech,  1 

common  known  as  "Kafir  clicks."  j 

Of  the  two   great  races,   the   Negroes   inhabit  the  i 

north  of   Central  Africa  from  the  Sahara  to  nearly  j 

the  Equator,  and   from  the  Nile  valley  westward  to  ! 

the  Gulf  of  Guinea  and  the  regions  of  the  Niger.     To  j 


18      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

this  race  belong  such  numerous  and  powerful  peoples 
as  the  Sudanese,  the  Hausas,  etc.     The  Bantu  race, 
greatest  of  all  the  African  peoples,  occupies  practically 
the  whole  of   South  Africa  up   to  the   Equator  and 
five  degrees  beyond  it.     It  includes  among  its  tribes  all 
the  names  most  familiar  in  South  African  history — 
Kafir,  Zulu,  Matabele,  Basuto,  Bechuana.     North  of 
the  Zambesi  it  embraces  all  the  peoples  from  Barotsi- 
land  to  Uganda.      Its  three  hundred  languages  and 
dialects  have  a  close  affinity,  being  all  built  on  what  is 
called  a  syntax  of  euphony,  according  to  which  the 
sound    of    the    ruling    word    pervades    the    sentence. 
Roughly  it  is  as  if  in  English,  instead  of  saying,  ''Men 
(women,    children)    go   to   church,"   we    should   say, 
**Men   me-go   me-church.  Women   we-go   we-church, 
Children  chi-go  chi-church.''     The  Bantu  tribes  were 
comparatively  late  arrivals  in  Africa  and  their  war- 
like migrations  lasted  till  well  on  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury.   In  colour  they  are  dark  brown  rather  than  black, 
and  many  have  sharp,  finely  chiselled  features.    In  this 
connection   it  may  be   remarked  that   the  variety   of 
features    and    of    facial    expression    among   Africans 
generally,  both  Negro  and  Bantu,  is  as  great  as  among 
Europeans.     The  typical  representation  of  the  negro 
face  is  as  much  a  caricature  as  the  portly  John  Bull  or 
the  lanky  Uncle  Sam. 

The  religion  of  pagan  Africa  takes  the  form  of 
Fetichism,  which  is  rather  a  system  of  vague  and 
gloomy  superstitions  than  a  body  of  definite  religious 
beliefs.  The  African  feels  himself  to  be  surrounded  by 
a  world  of  spirits,  malignant  and  terrifying.  These 
spirits  may  reside  in  any  object,  animate  or  inanimate, 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT  BEFORE  DAWN     19 

they  may  enter  and  take  possession  of  a  human  being. 
They  have  practically  an  unlimited  power  of  working 
deadly  mischief  on  every  hand.  The  African  is  like 
a  superstitious  man  walking  along  a  dark  road,  who 
feels  that  a  sheeted  ghost  may  start  from  every  bush, 
and  knows  not  at  what  moment  he  may  find  himself 
in  the  grip  of  clammy  hands.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  men  in  this  condition  are  driven  crazy  with 
fear,  swept  away  at  times  with  wild  panic,  and  ready 
to  purchase  safety  by  the  most  dreadful  rites  and  sac- 
rifices. 

Hence  arises  the  power  of  the  witch  doctor.  He 
alone  has  knowledge  of  the  spirit  world.  He  alone 
can  "smell  out"  the  spirits,  can  appease  them  or  drive 
them  off.  His  commands,  however  terrible,  must  be 
obeyed.  There  is  no  help  for  it,  unless  one  is  prepared 
to  deliver  one's  self  over  to  still  more  awful,  because 
invisible,  terrors.  Doubtless  the  witch  doctors  have 
been  more  or  less  sincere  in  their  self-delusions,  but 
they  have  often  abused  their  dread  powers  for  private 
ends,  of  self  interest  or  of  revenge.  Suspected  persons 
were  made  to  undergo  an  ordeal  by  poison,  those  who 
survived  being  accounted  innocent,  those  who  died, 
guilty.  This  ordeal  was  applied  not  merely  to  single 
individuals  but  sometimes  to  whole  villages  at  once. 
How  terrific  the  power  of  the  witch  doctor  was  may 
be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  in  1856  the  Kafirs  were 
persuaded  to  destroy  all  their  cattle,  thus  reducing 
themselves  to  abject  starvation,  in  the  hope  that  on  a 
certain  day  coimtless  herds  would  rise  from  the  dead, 
and  usher  in  an  African  millenium. 

In  some  parts  of  Africa  cannibalism  was  practised, 


20      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

though  not  to  any  great  extent.  Infanticide  was  more 
widely  prevalent,  and  twins  especially,  being  regarded 
by  some  tribes  as  monstrosities,  were  cast  out  to  die. 
Cruel  and  bloody  funeral  rites  often  followed  the 
death  of  a  chief.  In  order  that  his  spirit  might  be 
suitably  attended  in  the  underworld,  numbers  of  his 
slaves  were  put  to  death.  In  some  cases  his  w^ves 
were  buried  alive  in  the  grave  with  him. 

Repulsive  as  these  rites  and  practices  of  paganism 
are, — so  repulsive  that  the  worst  cannot  be  told — yet 
it  will  invariably  be  found  that  they  are  not  the  product 
of  sheer,  wanton  deviltry,  but  that  there  is  some 
serious  thought,  however  blinded,  underlying  them, 
and  some  serious  intention,  however  gross,  prompting 
them.  It  would  also  be  a  grave  mistake  to  picture  the 
moral  and  social  life  of  the  African  as  a  condition  of 
unrelieved  darkness.  There  are  laws  of  friendship 
and  hospitality,  standards  of  decency  and  respect- 
ability, which  are  as  strictly  observed  as  among  other 
nations,  the  wisdom  of  the  fathers,  such  as  it  is, — 
and  some  of  it  is  not  contemptible — is  carefully  passed 
on  to  the  children,  and  there  is  always  to  be  found 
some  degree  of  that  natural  affection  and  humanity 
without  which  social  life  would  be  impossible. 

Yet  when  every  allowance  is  made  it  is  a  dark  and 
pitiful  picture  that  remains.  A  false  idea  of  God 
distorts  all  human  thought  and  shrouds  this  mortal  life 
in  universal  gloom.  Instead  of  a  kindly  Providence 
above  there  is  the  haunting  presence  of  devils;  instead 
of  a  divine,  redeeming  love  there  is  a  devilish  anger 
to  be  appeased  and  devilish  cruelty  to  be  satisfied  with 
blood;   instead  of  a  Heavenly  Father  to  whom  His 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT  BEFORE  DAWN     21 

children  can  look  with  confidence  for  help,  there  are 
spirit  forces  embattled  round  a  man,  against  whose 
demonic  energy  he  must  pit  his  puny  strength,  and 
from  whom  he  can  hope  to  wring  a  gift  only  by  paying 
some  terrible  price.  "Paganism,"  writes  Dr.  Stewart, 
''is  a  terrible  fate  spiritually,  and  an  oppressive  power 
under  which  to  live.  To  all  the  ills  of  life  it  adds  the 
constant  terrors  of  a  world  unseen,  whose  agents  are 
ever  actively  interfering  with  human  affairs,  and  from, 
which  there  is  no  escape.^ .  .  .  The  darkest  picture  is 
not  overdrawn.  The  poorness  and  hardness,  narrow- 
ness and  joylessness  of  human  existence  in  paganism, 
in  Central  Africa  at  least,  must  be  seen  to  be  under- 
stood." More  than  loo  millions  of  the  people  of 
Africa  live  under  this  blight. 

Opponents  of  missions  have  at  times  amused  them- 
selves with  fanciful  pictures  of  the  natural  state  of 
the  heathen  world,  a  state  of  sweet  innocence  and 
peace,  which  it  were  cruelty  to  disturb.  No  such  state 
ever  existed  in  Africa.  Even  before  the  incoming  of 
the  white  race  Africa  was  continually  the  scene  of 
bloody  wars  and  revolutions.  The  tribal  chief  was 
often  a  cruel,  bloodthirsty  and  licentious  tyrant  who 
ate  up  his  people.  Neighbouring  tribes,  instead  of  liv- 
ing peacefully  side  by  side,  were  usually  at  war.  From 
time  to  time  vast  convulsions  took  place,  when  some 
barbarous  tribe  suddenly  burst  into  activity  like  a 
volcano,  and  spread  ruin  far  and  wide.  The  Zulus 
are  a  notable  instance  of  this.  About  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century  they  were  ruled  by  a  great 
chief,  Chaka,  who  has  not  unfitly  been  called  the 
Napoleon  of  South  Africa.     He  welded  his  warriors 


22      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

together  by  an  iron  military  discipline,  and  sent  out 
army  after  army  to  plunder  and  devastate.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  at  least  a  million  human  beings 
were  thus  wantonly  exterminated.  Even  the  flying 
splinters  of  Chaka's  armies  were  formidable.  Of 
these  the  best  known  are  the  Matabele  who  laid  waste 
Southern  Rhodesia,  the  Mantiti  who,  after  threaten- 
ing Cape  Colony,  streamed  away  to  the  northwest  and 
conquered  the  tribes  of  the  upper  Zambesi,  and  the 
Angoni  who  became  the  terror  of  Nyasaland.  Such 
was  heathen  life  in  Africa. 

Ill :  The  Hand  of  Europe 

It  cannot  be  denied,  however,  that  contact  with 
Europe  brought  upon  Africa  new  and  vast  evils.  Of 
these  the  greatest  and  most  indefensible  was  the  slave 
trade.  It  began  shortly  after  the  discovery  of  America. 
The  miserable  Indians  were  being  rapidly  extermi- 
nated under  the  tyranny  of  Spain,  and  the  demand 
for  labour  became  more  pressing.  In  these  circum- 
stances the  west  coast  of  Africa  became  the  recruit- 
ing ground  for  the  plantations  of  the  New  World. 
The  traffic  from  the  first  was,  confessedly,  an  outrage 
on  humanity,  but  so  enormously  profitable  did  it  prove 
to  be  that  all  religious  scruples  and  moral  considera- 
tions were  swept  aside.  Portugal  and  Spain  led  the 
way,  but  soon  England  outstripped  them,  and  at  one 
time  she  had  nearly  200  vessels  engaged  exclusively 
in  the  trade.  One  company  alone  was  chartered  to 
supply  30,000  slaves  annually  to  the  West  Indies.  In 
this  way  millions  of  the  people  of  Africa  were  trans- 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT  BEFORE  DAWN     23 

ported  across  the  Atlantic  and  millions  more  were 
cruelly  done  to  death.  The  slavetraders  harried  the 
west  coast  from  Cape  Verde  and  round  the  Gulf  of 
Guinea  to  the  Congo.  They  burned  villages  and  kid- 
napped the  inhabitants,  they  encouraged  intertribal 
wars  and  bought  the  prisoners,  they  planted  trading 
stations  along  the  coast  where  guns  and  gin  were 
exchanged  for  human  beings,  they  organised  slave 
hunting  in  the  interior.  Meantime  a  similar  stream 
of  Africa's  lifeblood  was  pouring  out  through  the 
gates  of  the  east  coast  to  supply  the  slave  markets  of 
Asia.  This  continued  long  after  the  Trans-Atlantic 
traffic  was  suppressed.  Indeed  the  stream,  though 
now  greatly  diminished,  has  not  yet  entirely  ceased  to 
flow.  In  Livingstone's  day  it  was  running  full  flood. 
Populous  regions  round  Lake  Nyasa  were  being  dev- 
astated, the  forest  paths  leading  to  the  coast  were  filled 
with  strings  of  fettered  captives,  and  along  the  line 
of  march  were  strewn  the  skeletons  of  those  who  had 
fallen.  Gradually  the  conscience  of  Christendom 
awoke,  and  the  nineteenth  century  saw  the  practical 
extinction  of  this  inhuman  traffic. 

The  history  of  European  colonisation  in  Africa 
runs  back  over  four  hundred  years.  By  the  sixteenth 
centupy  the  Portuguese  were  firmly  settled  on  both 
the  east  and  west  coasts.  The  old  grey  castle  of 
jyiozambique  was  built  by  Albuquerque  in  1508,  and 
St.  Paul  de  Loanda  was  founded  seventy  years  later. 
These  tropical  regions,  however,  can  never  become  a 
white  man's  country,  and  the  Portuguese  settlements 
have  too  often  shown  a  sad  record  of  physical  and 
moral    degeneration.      Yet    Portugal    has    conferred 


24      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

important  benefits  on  Africa  by  the  introduction  into 
the  country  of  various  new  articles  of  food,  such 
as  oranges  and  lemons,  maize  and  sweet  potatoes, 
and  many  other  vegetables.  As  has  been  said,  "Take 
away  from  the  African's  food  all  that  the  Portuguese 
have  introduced  and  he  would  be  left  very  poorly  sup- 
plied with  the  necessaries  of  life." 

The  real  colonisation  of  Africa  began  at  Cape  Town 
and  proceeded  northwards.  In  the  reign  of  James  I, 
two  British  admirals,  Shillinge  and  Fitz  Herbert, 
landed  at  the  Cape  and,  with  an  amazing  imperial  and 
prophetic  spirit,  took  possession  in  the  name  of  Britain 
of  "the  South  African  coast  and  continent!"  Their 
action,  however,  was  not  followed  up,  and  in  1652 
Holland  stepped  in  and  held  the  Cape  for  a  century 
and  a  half.  At  the  close  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  it 
fell  to  Britain  and  the  tide  of  colonisation  set  steadily 
in.  The  conflicts  between  Dutch  and  British  interests, 
which  lasted  throughout  the  nineteenth  century,  pro- 
moted expansion  northward,  and  now  Dutch  and 
British  are  happily  joined  in  the  United  States  of 
South  Africa. 

It  was  not  till  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century  that  the  scramble  for  Africa  began.  The  dis- 
coveries of  Livingstone  and  other  travellers  had 
revealed  the  enormous  resources  of  the  interior,  indus- 
trial Europe  was  in  want  of  raw  material  for  her 
industries,  and  of  new  markets  for  her  finished  prod- 
ucts. Africa  promised  to  supply  both.  Therefore 
Africa  was  divided  up  as  spoil  for  the  strong.  Some 
of  the  results  of  this  partition  make  painful  reading, 
especially  the  atrocities  of  the  Congo  Free  State.    Free 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT  BEFORE  DAWN  25 

State,  indeed ! — a  vast  region  of  tropical  Africa  placed 
at  the  mercy  of  a  licentious  king  and  a  greedy  group 
of  financiers  in  Belgium,  who  glutted  themselves  with 
red  rubber, — red  with  the  lifeblood  of  the  unhappy 
wretches  by  whose  labours  and  tortures  it  was  pro- 
duced. Fortunately  this  has  been  the  exception,  and 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  partition  of  Africa  and  its 
control  by  the  nations  of  Europe  has  proved  on  the 
whole  a  blessing  to  the  African.  It  has  led  to  the 
abolition  of  many  cruel  rites,  it  has  restrained  inter- 
tribal war,  it  has  protected  the  African  to  some  extent 
from  the  aggressions  of  lawless  white  men,  and  given 
him,  often  for  the  first  time,  the  blessings  of  good 
government  and  settled  peace. 

IV:  The  Coming  of  the  Missionary 

The  colonisation  of  Africa  has  been  accompanied, 
and  in  many  cases  preceded,  by  Christian  missionary 
effort.  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal,  who  sent  out  the 
first  bold  voyagers  to  feel  their  way  round  the  conti- 
nent, was  animated  by  a  noble  desire  to  promote  the 
spread  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  stem  the  flowing 
tide  of  Islam.  "Plant  the  Cross  on  some  new  head- 
land. *  That  is  what  I  want,"  he  said.  As  early  as 
1491  Dominican  missionaries  made  an  imposing  start 
on  the  Congo,  and  for  a  time  their  labours  were 
rewarded  with  great  outward  success.  No  real  impres- 
sion, however,  was  made  upon  the  ignorance  and  bar- 
barism of  the  people,  and  that,  together  with  the 
unworthy  lives  of  the  missionaries,  brought  all  to 
ruin.    The  Jesuits  also  laboured  with  zeal  and  devotion 


26     THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

in  all  the  Portuguese  colonies,  and  penetrated  some 
distance  into  the  interior,  but  their  work,  like  that  of 
the  Dominicans,  had  no  solid  basis  of  Christian  educa- 
tion, and  when  they  were  banished  from  the  colonies 
for  political  reasons,  it  fell  to  pieces.  Only  a  few 
ruined  walls  remain  to  witness  to  the  work  which  the 
mediaeval  Church  attempted  to  do  for  Africa.  It  may 
be  that  some  dim  impressions  of  that  work  still  linger 
in  the  African  mind.  Some  years  ago  a  remote  heathen 
tribe  on  the  Zambesi  was  found  to  possess  a  melody 
which  proved  to  be  a  pure  bit  of  fifteenth  century  church 
music,  a  melody  moreover  which  had  disappeared  from 
the  Portuguese  churches  about  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  This  may  well  suggest  the  interesting  ques- 
tion whether  some  of  those  African  traditions  which 
bear  a  resemblance  to  Scripture  may  not  be  derived 
from  the  same  source. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  Protestant  missions  entered 
the  field,  the  Moravians  as  usual  leading  the  way.  They 
were  followed  by  the  London  Missionary  Society,  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  and  others.  It  was  not 
till  the  nineteenth  century,  however,  that  much  prog- 
ress was  made,  and  the  work  established  on  a  firm  and 
enduring  basis.  Then  begariy  that  wide-spread  and 
hopeful  process  of  Christian  education  and  training 
which  has  done  so  much  for  the  transformation  of 
Africa  and  the  uplift  of  its  people.  Then  appeared  a 
succession  of  missionary  heroes,  whose  courage  and 
endurance,  whose  devotion  and  holy  zeal  have  been 
an  inspiration  to  the  Christian  world,  and  whose  names 
will  ever  be  held  in  remembrance  as  the  founders  of 
the  African  Church. 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT  BEFORE  DAWN     27 

It  should  never  be  forgotten,  however,  that  to 
African  eyes  these  things  wear  a  different  aspect.  The 
vast  convulsions,  the  overthrov/  of  the  old  order  of 
things,  the  inferior  position  of  the  natives  under  the 
white  man's  rule,  may  well  appear  to  them  to  be  but 
doubtful  blessings.  When  Mary  Slessor  was  about  to 
sail  for  Calabar  she  stood  on  deck  and  watched  the 
boat  being  loaded  with  casks  of  spirits  for  the  West 
Coast  trade.  ''Scores  of  casks,"  she  exclaimed  sorrow- 
fully, "and  only  one  missionary."  It  was  a  sharp 
reminder  of  what  is  often  forgotten  in  church  circles, 
that  Christian  mission  work  is  but  one  small  element 
in  the  manifold  activities  of  the  white  man.  The 
missionary  preaches  brotherhood,  but  the  colonist 
refuses  to  give  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  his  black 
brother.  The  pure  influence  of  the  Gospel  is  countered 
by  the  corruptions  of  city  life.  It  need  not,  therefore, 
be  surprising  if  many  Africans,  ignorant  of  the  dark- 
ness and  barbarism  of  the  past,  are  impatient  under 
the  restraints  and  disabilities  of  their  present  condition, 
if  some  are  bitterly  resentful,  and  would  fiercely  deny 
that  the  white  man's  coming  has  brought  the  dawn. 
Yet,  surely,  the  dawn  it  is,  dubious  and  stormy,  doubt- 
less, at  its  first  appearing,  and  with  much  darkness 
mingling  with  its  light,  but  destined,  by  the  blessing  of 
God  and  the  efforts  of  His  people,  to  usher  in  for. 
Africa  a  brighter  day. 


CHAPTER  II 

ROBERT    MOFFAT,     MISSIONARY    PIONEER 

I:  A  Scots  Gardener 

Robert  Moffat  was  born  at  Ormiston  in  East  Lothian 
on  December  21,  1795.  His  boyhood,  however,  was 
spent  at  Portsoy  on  the  Moray  Firth  and  at  Carron- 
shore  near  Falkirk.  When  fourteen  years  old  he  was 
apprenticed  as  a  gardener  and  for  some  time  lived  in 
a  bothy  with  seven  other  men,  not  altogether  a  bad 
preparation  for  the  rough  life  of  a  pioneer  missionary. 
He  grew  up,  a  tall,  strong  lad,  with  dark,  piercing  eyes 
and  a  frame  capable  of  more  than  ordinary  endurance. 
He  became  a  powerful  swimmer,  and  on  one  occasion 
rescued  a  companion  from  drowning  in  the  Firth  of 
Forth.  On  finishing  his  apprenticeship  he  obtained  a 
situation  at  High  Leigh  in  Cheshire  where  he  came 
into  contact  with  the  Methodists,  to  whom  he  owed 
his  conversion.  From  childhood  he  had  been  under 
strong  Christian  influences.  Both  his  parents  were 
deeply  religious  after  the  somewhat  stern  old  Scottish 
type  of  piety,  and  his  mother  had  exacted  from  him, 
on  leaving  home,  a  solemn  promise  to  read  his  Bible 
every  day.  Now,  however,  they  were  not  without 
some  suspicion  of  the  confident  faith  and  warm  reli- 
gious feeling  th^t  breathed  through  their  son's  letters. 

His  father,  while  welcoming  the  news  of  his  conver- 

28 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     29 

sion  "as  cold  water  to  a  thirsty  soul,"  proceeded  at 
some  length  to  exhort  his  son  "not  to  be  high-minded 
but  to  fear,"  and  to  this  he  added  the  warning,  "Let 
him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 

Mainly  through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Roby  of  Man- 
chester, Moffat's  mind  now  began  to  turn  to  the  mis- 
sion field.    The  seed  had  indeed  been  sown  much  earlier 
in  his  childhood's  home.     Writing  to  his  aged  mother 
after  many  years  of  service  in  Africa  Moffat  warmly 
acknowledges  this.     "Mother,  dear  mother,  your  many 
prayers  have  been  heard.  .  .  .  Wherever  I  am  I  never 
forget  how  much  I  owe  to  your  prayers.     The  first 
dawn  of  reflection  respecting  my  soul  commenced  with 
hearing  you  pray."     His  mother's  influence  seems  to 
have  been  felt  in  other  ways.     "My  dear  old  mother, 
to  keep  us  out  of  mischief  in  the  long  winter  evenings, 
taught  me  both  to  sew  and  knit,  and  when  I  told  her 
I  intended  being  a  man,  she  would  reply,  'Lad,  ye  dinna 
ken  whaur  your  lot  will  be  cast.'  "     While  the  circle 
round  the  fire  was  thus  usefully  employed  their  mother 
was  accustomed  to  read  such  missionary  news  as  was 
then  to  be  had,  especially  the  heroic  stories  of  the 
labours  and  sufferings  of  the  Moravians  in  Greenland 
and  among  the  plantation  slaves  in  the  East  Indies. 
Now  it'became  the  settled  ambition  of  young  Moffat  to 
emulate  these  pioneers  of  the  Gospel  among  the  heathen. 

Mr.  Roby,  in  order  to  have  his  young  friend  nearer 
him  for  supervision  and  help,  got  work  for  him  in 
the  nursery  garden  of  Mr.  Smith  of  Dukinfield,  a  warm 
supporter  of  missions.  "Thus  was  I  led  by  a  way  that 
I  knew  not,"  writes  Moffat,  "for  another  important 
end,  for.  otherwise  I  might  not  have  had  my  late  dear 


30      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

wife  to  be  my  companion  and  partner  in  all  my  hopes 
and  fears  for  more  than  half  a  century  in  Africa. 
As  it  was,  Mr.  Smith's  only  daughter  possessing  a 
warm  missionary  heart,  we  soon  became  attached  to 
one  another,  but  she  was  not  allowed  to  join  me  in 
Africa  till  nearly  three  years  after  I  left."  In  physique 
the  future  Mrs.  Moffat  presented  a  contrast  to  her 
husband,  being  under  ordinary  height,  with  blue  eyes, 
and  a  complexion  that  never  lost  its  delicate  girlish 
bloom.  She  was  never  strong  and  often  her  mind  was 
oppressed  by  gloomy  forebodings,  but  so  perfectly 
did  she  become  united  with  her  husband  in  mutual  love 
and  trust,  and  in  all  their  religious  aspirations  and 
labours,  that  their  life  story  was  fittingly  recorded  by 
their  son  in  one  common  biography.  The  Lives  of 
Robert  cmd  Mary  Moffat. 

After  a  first  application  to  the  London  Missionary 
Society  had  been  refused  Moffat  was  at  length,  through 
the  influence  of  his  friend  Mr.  Roby,  accepted  for 
service  in  Africa.  On  September  30,  1816,  he  was 
solemnly  set  apart  for  the  work,  with  eight  others,  at 
a  meeting  in  Surrey  Chapel,  London.  Five  of  the 
young  missionaries  were  allocated  to  Africa,  four  to 
the  South  Seas.  Among  the  latter  was  John  Williams, 
the  Apostle  of  Polynesia,  whose  devoted  life  was  des- 
tined to  be  crowned  by  glorious  martyrdom  on  Erro- 
manga.  It  seemed  at  one  moment  as  if  Moffat  and 
Williams  would  have  more  than  a  passing  connection, 
for  it  was  proposed  that  both  should  go  to  the  South 
Seas.  Dr.  Waugh,  however,  a  Scots  member  of  the 
committee,  protested   that  "thae  twa  lads  are   ower 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     31 

young  to  gang  thegither."     Thus  the  little  turn  was 
given  that  determined  a  great  career. 


II:  The  Infant  Colony 

Moffat  and  his  companions  reached  Cape  Town  in 
January,  1817.  The  Colony  was  then  in  its  infancy, 
for  only  three  years  had  elapsed  since  British  power 
was  established  as  paramount  at  the  Cape.  Of  vital 
importance  as  the  half  way  house  to  India,  it  was 
first  occupied  by  the  Dutch,  then  seized  by  the  French, 
and  so  continued  a  bone  of  contention  throughout  the 
period  of  the  Napoleonic  wars.  The  Colony  now 
extended  northward  to  the  Orange  River,  but  in 
reality  its  northern  boundary  was  vague  and  undefined. 
Scarcely  a  sprinkling  of  white  settlers  was  scattered 
over  the  vast  area,  while  roving  bands  of  Boers  kept 
moving  farther  into  the  interior,  hoping  thus  to  leave 
British  justice  behind  them,  and  enjoy  unfettered  liberty 
to  enslave  the  native  races.  Crossing  the  Orange  River 
they  occupied  the  territory  between  the  Orange  and 
Vaal  Rivers,  then,  having  crossed  the  Vaal,  they  spread 
themselves  thinly  over  the  country  to  the  north,  up 
to  the  Limpopo.  Thus  were  laid  the  foundations  of 
what  became  the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal, 
whose  relations  to  British  rule  were  to  prove  a  source 
of  ever  recurring  trouble  for  nearly  a  centuy,  and  whose 
determined  hostility  to  Christian  missions  had  much 
to  do  in  determining  the  work  of  Moffat  and  the 
career  of  Livingstone. 


32      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

The  multitudinous  tribes  of  natives,  Bantu  in  the 
east  and  centre,  Hottentot  and  Bushman  in  the  west, 
were  in  a  continual  state  of  unrest.  Intertribal  wars 
and  especially  the  wholesale  devastations  of  the  Zulu 
chief,  Chaka,  caused  frequent  migrations,  with  the 
inevitable  accompaniment  of  bloodshed  and  plundering. 
In  addition,  the  increasing  pressure  of  white  settlers 
who  rode  rough-shod  over  native  rights  led  to  a  grow- 
ing bitterness  which  ever  and  anon  burst  forth  in 
savage  outrage  and  equally  savage  reprisal.  Accord- 
ingly, life  along  the  northern  border  of  the  Colony  was 
full  of  ever  recurring  perils  and  alarms. 

North  of  the  Orange  River  there  stretches  east  and 
west  a  strip  of  barely  habitable  country  called  Great 
Namaqualand  which  becomes  more  parched  and  barren 
towards  the  north  till  it  merges  into  the  Kalahari  Des- 
ert. Here  was  the  home  of  various  tribes  of  Hotten- 
tots and  Bushmen,  while  the  somewhat  more  fertile 
region  to  the  east,  bordering  on  the  Transvaal,  was 
inhabited  by  the  Bechuanas,  a  Bantu  tribe.  Many  of 
these  Hottentots  had  retired  over  the  Orange  River  to 
escape  the  advancing  tide  of  civilization,  and  their 
land  being  beyond  the  Colony  gradually  became  the 
refuge  of  native  marauders  and  malcontents.  Perhaps 
the  most  powerful  element  in  the  country  was  the 
Griquas  or  Bastards,  a  group  of  Hottentots  with  some 
infusion  of  Dutch  blood,  whose  possession  of  firearms 
and  of  horses  made  them  irresistible  against  a  purely 
native  force.  Their  principal  settlement  was  at  Griqua 
Town  not  far  from  tlie  junction  of  the  Orange  River 
and  the  Vaal. 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     33 

III:  Taming  a  Freebooter 

In  Great  Namaqualand  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety had  been  at  work  before  Moffat's  arrival.  The 
Bushmen  were  found  almost  impossible  to  evangelise, 
owing  to  their  being  pure  nomads  with  neither  homes 
nor  settlements  of  any  kind.  Among  the  other  Hot- 
tentots some  slight  progress  had  been  made.  In  par- 
ticular the  chief,  Africaner,  who  for  years  had  been 
the  terror  of  the  border,  was  favourably  impressed.  It 
was  to  his  kraal  that  Moffat  was  now  directed  to  pro- 
ceed. The  Government  of  the  Cape  at  first  refused 
permission  to  travel  beyond  the  frontier,  evidently 
from  some  vague  idea  that  missionary  work  would 
tend  to  consolidate  the  roaming  tribes  and  freebooters, 
and  make  them  more  dangerous  to  the  Colony.  This 
caused  a  delay  of  several  months,  which  Moffat  spent 
at  Stellenbosch  in  acquiring  the 'Dutch  language.  The 
veto  of  the  Government  having  been  at  length  with- 
drawn, Moffat  travelled  north,  crossed  the  Orange 
River  and  reached  Africaner's  kraal  in  January,  1818, 
a  year  after  his  landing  at  the  Cape.  A  Mr.  Ebner, 
who  had  been  at  work  here  for  some  time  previously 
but  who,  through  some  disagreement  with  Africaner's 
people,'  felt  his  life  to  be  in  danger,  immediately 
departed  on  Moffat's  arrival,  and  the  young  mission- 
ary was  left  alone  to  make  the  best  of  his  novel  and 
difficult  position. 

Moffat's  stay  in  Namaqualand  did  not  extend  to 
two  years,  yet  his  connection  with  Africaner  and  the 
influence  he  exerted  over  that  once  wild  and  lawless 
bandit  is  one  of  the  most  romantic  episodes  in  his  life. 


34i      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

On  his  journey  north  he  had  heard  from  Dutch  farmers 
the  most  gloomy  forebodings  of  the  fate  awaiting  him. 
Some  of  their  kindly  vrouws  even  shed  tears  over  this 
bonnie  Scotch  lajddie  going  to  an  untimely  death. 
Africaner  was  an  outlaw  upon  whose  head  the  Cape 
Government  had  set  a  price,  and  any  hope  that  he  might 
"tak'  a  thought  and  mend"  was  no  more  regarded 
than  the  ravings  of  lunacy. 

Africaner's  reception,  though  cool,  was  not  un- 
friendly. By  his  order  a  rude  hut  was  speedily  erected 
in  which  Moffat  settled  down  to  a  life  of  primitive 
simplicity.  His  meagre  salary  of  £25  per  annum  was 
of  no  immediate  use  to  him  and  he  was  compelled  to 
subsist  entirely  on  native  food,  chiefly  milk  and  flesh. 
Often  he  had  to  tighten  his  belt  over  an  empty  stomach. 
The  people  among  whom  he  laboured  seemed  hopelessly 
degraded.  The  constant  struggle  for  a  bare  existence 
left  no  room  for  religion  and  but  little  for  natural 
affection.  The  idea  of  God  and  the  sense  of  right  and 
wrong  could  hardly  be  said  to  exist.  Undesirable 
infants  were  cast  away  and  helpless  old  people  left  to 
perish. 

In  pleasing  contrast  was  the  earnestness  of  the  chief, 
Africaner,  who  from  the  first  seemed  eager  to  learn 
and  placed  himself  day  by  day  with  the  utmost  regu- 
larity under  Moffat's  teaching.  He  made  rapid  prog- 
ress in  Christian  knowledge  and  character  and  actively 
promoted  the  work  of  the  mission.  The  situation  of 
his  people,  however,  became  impossible  through  long 
continued  drought,  and  Africaner  along  with  Moffat 
undertook  a  long  journey  to  the  north  in  the  hope  of 
finding  a  place  suitable  for  a  permanent  settlement.    In 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     35 


this  they  were  unsuccessful,  and  returned  after  endur- 
ing many  hardships  in  the  desert.  Moffat  next  went 
eastward  to  inspect  a  location  offered  to  Africaner's 
people  by  the  chiefs  of  the  Griquas.  On  this  journey 
he  unwittingly  drank  of  a  pool  which  had  been  poi- 
soned by  the  Bushman  to  kill  game.  Fortunately  the 
effects  passed  off  after  a  few  days'  illness.  Having  sat- 
isfied himself  that  Africaner  should  move  east  to  Gri- 
qualand  he  returned  and  reported  to  the  chief,  who 
cordially  agreed. 

Moffat  was  now  arranging  to  travel  to  Cape  Town 
to  meet  his  future  wife,  and  to  confer  with  deputies 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society  who  had  been  sent 
out  to  inquire  into  the  work  in  South  Africa.  He 
proposed  to  Africaner  to  accompany  him.  At  first  the 
chief  was  startled  and  his  people  were  thrown  into 
violent  alarm  at  the  bare  idea.  For  an  outlaw,  with  a 
reward  of  £ioo  offered  for  his  head,  it  might  well 
seem  madness  to  cross  the  Orange  River,  and  the 
proposal  was  open  to  the  suspicion  of  treachery.  Mof- 
fat, however,  saw  great  possibilities  of  good  in  recon- 
ciling the  chief  to  the  Government,  and  in  exhibiting 
to  friends  and  enemies  of  the  mission  this  extraor- 
dinary trophy  of  the  Gospel.  Africaner  at  length 
consented  and  travelled  through  the  Colony  in  dis- 
guise as  Moffat's  servant.  On  several  occasions  he  had 
the  curious  experience  of  hearing  Dutch  farmers  de- 
clare their  utter  scepticism  as  to  his  conversion,  while 
they  little  dreamed  that  the  subject  of  their  remarks 
was  standing  by.  Moffat  himself  was  an  object  of 
interest.  He  tells  with  amusement  of  the  alarm  of 
one  worthy  farmer  who  took  him  for  a  ghost.    "Every- 


36      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

body  says  you  were  murdered/'  he  exclaimed,  **and  a 
man  told  me  he  had  seen  your  bones."  When  informed 
that  Africaner  was  now  *'a  truly  godly  man,"  he 
replied,  '*I  can  believe  almost  anything  you  say  but 
that  I  cannot  credit.  There  are  seven  wonders  in  the 
world,  that  would  be  the  eighth."  At  length,  half 
convinced,  he  said,  *'Well,  if  what  you  say  is  true,  I 
have  only  one  wish  and  that  is  to  see  him  before  I  die, 
and  when  you  return,  as  sure  as  the  sun  is  over  our 
heads,  I  will  go  with  you  to  see  him,  though  he  killed 
my  own  uncle."  Trusting  the  discretion  and  goodwill 
of  the  farmer,  Moffat  said,  "This  is  Africaner."  The 
farmer  was  thunderstruck,  but  when  by  a  few  ques- 
tions he  had  assured  himself  of  the  fact,  he  lifted  up 
his  eyes  and  exclaimed,  "O  God,  what  a  miracle  of 
Thy  power !    What  cannot  Thy  grace  accomplish?" 

The  Governor  of  the  Cape,  Lord  Charles  Somerset, 
was  equally  sceptical  at  first,  but  Moffat's  assurances 
and  still  more  the  appearance  and  manners  of  Africaner 
convinced  him  of  the  reality  of  the  miracle,  and  even- 
tually the  Government  reward  offered  for  the  head  of 
the  freebooter  was  spent  in  buying  him  a  wagon  in 
which  he  safely  returned  home  to  his  people. 

Moffat  now  received  instructions  to  proceed  to 
Bechuanaland  which  lies  to  the  east  of  the  Kala- 
hari Desert,  between  that  region  of  desolation 
and  the  Transvaal.  His  destination  was  Kuruman,  a 
hundred  miles  north  of  Griqua  Town,  but  after  cross- 
ing the  Orange  River  he  was  detained  for  several 
months  in  Griqua  Town,  waiting  Government  permis- 
sion to  go  north.  Here  he  parted,  for  the  last  time  as 
it  proved,  from  his  friend  Africaner.     The  chief  had 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     37 

brought  Moffat's  goods  across  country  from  Nama- 
qualand  in  his  wagon,  and  he  left  hoping  soon  to  bring 
his  people  east  to  Griqualand,  but  this  design  was  frus- 
trated by  his  death. 

Griqua  Town  was  at  this  time  peopled  by  a  miscel- 
laneous collection  of  Griquas,  Hottentots  and  Bushmen, 
with  refugees  from  various  other  tribes.  The  Society 
had  been  at  work  among  them  for  twenty  years  with 
some  success,  and  the  community  had  chosen  as  their 
chief  a  Christian  Bushman  named  Waterboer,  who 
conducted  their  affairs  with  great  discretion  and  fidelity. 
Under  his  rule  the  Griquas  became  a  power  to  be 
reckoned  with  on  the  border,  and  on  one  critical  occa- 
sion they  were  the  means  of  averting  disaster  from 
the  Colony.  In  Griqua  Town  Mary  Moffat  was  born, 
who  afterwards  became  the  wife  of  David  Living- 
stone. After  her  birth  Moffat,  or  Moshete  as  the 
natives  called  him,  became  known  as  Ra-Mary  (father 
of  Mary),  while  his  wife,  by  the  same  native  usage, 
was  designated  Ma-Mary. 

IV:  The  Romance  of  Kurunum 

The  Moffats  now  proceeded  to  Kuruman  which  will 
be  for  ever  associated  with  their  life  and  labours.  The 
settlement  depended  for  its  existence  on  the  water  of 
the  Kuruman  River  so  called,  though  it  was  a  fountain 
rather  than  a  running  stream.  Westward  the  land 
rapidly  faded  into  the  desert,  while  eastward  it  grew 
more  fertile  towards  the  Transvaal.  The  Bechuanas 
were  still  in  unbroken  heathenism.  "They  looked  at 
the  sun  with  the  eyes  of  an  ox."    Christian  truth  was 


38      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

received  with  stolid  indifference  or  with  shouts  of 
derisive  laughter.  "Our  labours,"  writes  Moffat, 
"might  well  be  compared  to  the  attempts  of  a  child  to 
grasp  the  surface  of  a  polished  mirror,  or  those  of  a 
husbandman  labouring  to  transform  the  surface  of  a 
granite  rock  into  arable  land,  on  which  he  might  sow 
his  seed."  The  rude  hut  of  the  missionaries  gave  them 
none  of  the  privacy  of  home  life,  for  men  and  women 
would  crowd  into  it  as  often  and  as  long  as  they  had 
a  mind,  and,  to  make  matters  worse,  they  never  lost  a 
chance  of  pilfering.  One  of  themselves  fitly  described 
their  condition  when  he  said  to  Moffat  years  after- 
wards, "You  found  us  beasts,  not  men." 

A  long  continued  drought  made  the  situation  more 
difficult,  for  the  missionaries  were  suspected  of  frus- 
trating the  efforts  of  the  official  rainmaker.  The  earn- 
est looks  which  they  were  seen  to  cast  towards  the  sky 
whenever  a  cloud  appeared  were  sufficient  evidence  that 
they  bewitched  the  rain.  They  were  ordered  by  ,the 
chiefs  to  leave  the  country  under  threats  of  violence,  to 
which  the  fearless  answer  was  given,  "You  may  shed 
our  blood  or  burn  us  out.  Then  shall  they  who  sent  us 
know,  and  God  who  now  sees  and  hears  what  we  do, 
shall  know,  that  we  have  been  persecuted  indeed." 
These  solemn  words  awed  their  opponents,  and  in  the 
end  the  rainmaker  was  the  first  to  go. 

In  1823  vague  and  disturbing  rumours  began  to 
reach  Kuruman  of  a  savage  horde  of  warriors  advanc- 
ing from  the  east,  and  spreading  universal  destruc- 
tion along  their  path.  They  proved  to  be  the  Mantiti, 
a  branch  of  the  Zulu  family,  which,  like  the  Matabele, 
had  broken  bounds  and  become  the  scourge  of  every 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     39 

tribe  they  encountered.  MoflFat,  who  at  first  did  not  re- 
gard these  rumours  seriously,  took  a  journey  to  the 
northeast  to  visit  the  Bangwaketsi.  As  he  advanced  he 
soon  had  convincing  evidence  that  a  fearful  danger  was 
imminently  threatening  the  Bechuanas  and  Kuruman. 
He  hurried  home  and  a  meeting  of  chiefs  and  people 
was  hastily  summoned.  Great  was  the  consternation, 
and  some  proposed  flight  into  the  Kalahari  Desert.  To 
Moffat  the  only  hope  seemed  to  lie  in  the  horses  and 
guns  of  the  Griquas  and,  his  proposal  being  agreed  to, 
he  proceeded  to  Griqua  Town  to  solicit  their  help.  The 
Griquas,  seeing  their  own  safety  imperilled,  responded 
promptly  to  the  appeal  and  brought  to  Kuruman  a  force 
of  a  hundred  mounted  men.  Joining  forces  with  the 
Bechuanas  they  advanced  to  meet  the  enemy.  The 
hordes  of  the  Mantiti  came  surging  onward  and  refused 
every  attempt  at  negotiation.  They  fought  with  in- 
credible ferocity  and  scattered  the  Bechuanas  like 
chaff.  But  the  horses  and  guns  of  the  Griquas,  with 
which  they  were  totally  unacquainted,  struck  terror  into 
their  ranks  and  they  broke  and  fled.  But  for  this 
check  they  would  w^ithout  doubt  have  overrun  the 
northern  districts  of  Cape  Colony. 

Moffat's  conduct  throughout  this  crisis  made  a  deep 
and  lasting  impression  upon  the  natives,  and  gave  him 
a  prestige  among  them  which  he  never  afterwards  lost. 
For  ^ome  time  the  country  continued  in  a  very  unset- 
tled state.  The  scattered  hordes  of  the  Mantiti  still 
roamed  about,  while  lawless  bands  of  Griquas  took  to 
the  trade  of  freebooters  and  terrorised  the  tribes.  On 
one  occasion  Moffat  had  an  escape  which  he  regarded 
as  singularly  providential.     He  had  gone  to  the  north 


40      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

to  visit  the  Bangwaketsi,  and  a  considerable  number 
of  Griquas  travelled  with  him  for  the  purpose  of  ele- 
phant hunting.  They  were  to  return  home  by  different 
routes  but  at  the  last  moment  the  Griquas,  for  no  ap- 
parent reason,  determined  to  return  with  Moffat.  On 
the  way  they  were  attacked  by  a  strong  force  of  Man- 
titi,  into  whose  hands  Moffat  would  undoubtedly  have 
fallen  had  he  been  alone. 

Amid  these  alarms  the  work  of  the  mission  was 
steadily  carried  on,  but  still  the  heathenism  of  the  peo- 
ple presented  an  unbroken  front.  There  were  many 
dark  hours  of  despondency  but  faith  triumphed.  *'We 
may  not  live  to  see  it,"  Mary  Moffat  would  say  to  her 
husband,  "but  the  awakening  will  come  as  surely  as  the 
sun  will  rise  to-morrow."  Weak  in  body  and  naturally 
prone  to  depression  and  gloomy  fears,  she  had  an  un- 
wavering confidence  in  the  future  of  God's  work. 
Writing  to  a  friend  who  had  asked  if  there  was  any- 
thing she  could  send  out  for  the  use  of  the  mission, 
Mrs.  Moffat  said,  "Send  us  a  communion  service.  We 
shall  want  it  one  day."  Two  or  three  years  elapsed, 
and  so  fruitless  did  the  work  appear  that  the  Directors 
of  the  Society  were  considering  the  advisability  of 
abandoning  the  mission. 

At  length  in  1829  the  first  clear  signs  of  daybreak 
appeared.  The  services  in  the  little  mission  church 
began  to  be  crowded  and  a  new  interest  and  emotion 
seemed  to  awaken  in  heathen  breasts.  The  record  of  it 
may  best  be  given  in  Moffat's  own  words.  "The  simple 
Gospel,"  he  writes,  "now  melted  their  flinty  hearts, 
and  eyes  now  wept  which  never  before  shed  the  tear  of 
hallowed  sorrow.    Notwithstanding  our  earnest  desires 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     41 

and  fervent  prayers,  we  were  taken  by  surprise.  We 
had  so  long  been  accustomed  to  indifference,  that  we 
felt  unprepared  to  look  on  a  scene  which  perfectly  over- 
whelmed our  minds.  Our  temporary  little  chapel  be- 
came a  Bochim — a  place  of  weeping — and  the  sympathy 
of  feeling  spread  from  heart  to  heart,  so  that  even 
infants  wept.  Some,  after  gazing  with  extreme  in- 
tensity of  feeling  on  the  preacher,  would  fall  down  in 
hysterics,  and  others  were  carried  out  in  a  state  of 
great  exhaustion."  After  instruction  and  examination 
Moffat  baptised  his  first  six  converts  and  partook  with 
them  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  "Our 
feelings  on  that  occasion,"  he  writes,  "were  such  as 
our  pen  would  fail  to  describe.  We  were  as  those  that 
dreamed,  while  we  realised  the  promise  on  which  our 
souls  had  often  hung,  'He  that  goeth  forth  and  weep- 
eth,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again 
with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him.'  "  By  a 
striking  coincidence,  the  communion  vessels  which  Mrs. 
Moffat  had  asked  for  years  before,  arrived  on  the 
Friday  preceding  that  memorable  Sunday. 

V:     The  Matabele 

The  same  year  Moffat  paid  his  first  visit  to  the  Mata- 
bele.* For  some  time  rumours  had  reached  him  of  this 
powerful  and  warlike  people,  who  were  at  that  time 
settled  beside  the  Limpopo,  far  to  the  east  of  Kuruman. 
They  had  come  north  from  Zululand,  and  they  after- 
wards overran  the  country  as  far  as  the  Zambesi  before 
their  military  despotism  was  broken  by  British  arms. 


42      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

Their  chief,  Mosilikatse,  anxious  to  learn  of  the  white 
man  and  his  ways,  sent  two  of  his  headmen  to  Kuru- 
man.  They  were  greatly  struck  by  what  they  saw,  and 
pressed  Moffat  to  visit  their  chief.  He  consented,  and 
after  a  long  and  arduous  journey  reached  the  kraal  of 
the  Matabele  king.  Mosilikatse  gave  him  a  cordial  wel- 
come and  handsomely  acknowledged  the  kindness 
shown  to  his  deputies  as  kindness  shown  to  himself. 
**My  father,"  he  said,  "you  have  made  my  heart  as 
white  as  milk.  I  cannot  cease  to  wonder  at  the  love 
of  a  stranger." 

Moffat  on  his  part  was  much  struck  with  the  mili- 
tary discipline  of  the  Matabele  and  the  savage  pomp 
of  their  king.  It  exceeded  anything  that  was  to  be 
seen  elsewhere  in  South  Africa.  A  tragic  example  was 
given  of  the  spirit  of  the  warriors.  One  of  the  In- 
dunas,  being  condemned  to  death,  was  pardoned  on  the 
intercession  of  Moffat  but  sentenced  to  be  disgraced 
from  his  rank.  At  once  he  besought  the  king  to  let 
him  die  like  a  warrior  for  he  could  not  live  in  dis- 
grace. His  request  was  granted  and  he  was  led  forth 
to  instant  execution.  Such  was  the  missionary's  first 
Sunday  morning  among  the  Matabele. 

Soon  after  Moffat's  return  to  Kuruman  he  travelled 
to  Cape  Town  with  his  wife  and  children,  in  order  to 
put  the  children  to  school  and  at  the  same  time  to 
arrange  for  the  printing  of  some  parts  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament which  he  had  translated  into  Sechuana. 
Throughout  his  whole  career  he  occupied  every  spare 
moment  of  a  busy  life  with  translation  work  and  never 
ceased  till  he  had  given  the  Bechuanas  the  whole  of  the 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     43 

Scriptures  in  their  own  language.  Finding  no  printer 
in  Cape  Town  to  undertake  the  work  he  took  it  in  hand 
himself  under  the  guidance  of  a  Government  printer. 
This  proved  a  fortunate  circumstance  for  at  that  junc- 
ture a  mission  printing  press  arrived  at  the  Cape,  which 
enabled  Moffat  henceforth  to  do  his  own  printing  at 
Kuruman.  The  work  of  the  mission  was  now  proceed- 
ing hopefully.  Schools  were  established  at  various 
centres  with  the  help  of  native  teachers,  and  pleasing 
evidences  began  to  appear  of  a  desire  for  improvement. 
Habits  of  personal  cleanliness,  greater  decency  in 
clothing,  better  houses  and  rude  attempts  at  furniture 
were  all  welcome  as  signs  of  a  new  spirit  among  the 
people.  A  demand  arose  for  candles,  and  the  fat  which 
had  before  been  larded  on  to  greasy  bodies  was  now 
put  to  a  better  use.  Everywhere  the  people  were  keen 
to  learn  the  mystery  of  reading.  To  meet  this  ardour 
Moffat  taught  them  to  sing  the  ABC  to  the  tune  of 
Auld  Lang  Syne,  but  he  confesses  that  sometimes, 
when  it  was  rendered  far  on  into  the  night,  he  ''was 
ready  to  wish  it  at  John  o'  Groat's  House."  In  1835 
Moffat  again  visited  the  Matabele  and  spent  two  months 
with  Mosilikatse,  who  showed  him  round  the  country, 
travelling  in  Moffat's  wagon.  The  corpulent  monarch 
found  the  bed  in  the  wagon  much  to  his  taste  and  in- 
vited its  owner  to  come  and  lie  beside  him,  an  invita- 
tion which  was  politely  declined.  Soon  after  this  visit 
the  Matabele,  being  attacked  by  the  Zulus  and  feeling 
also  the  pressure  of  the  Boers  in  the  Transvaal,  mi- 
grated to  the  north  where  for  some  years  they  were 
lost  sight  of. 


44      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

VI :     Moffat  and  Livingstone 

The  Moffats  had  now  been  twenty  years  in  Africa 
and  had  endured  to  the  full  the  privations  and  hard- 
ships that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  pioneer.  Though  still 
in  early  middle  life  they  were  veterans  in  the  service 
and  their  work  had  impressed  the  imagination  of  the 
home  Churches  to  a  degree  they  had  little  idea  of.  In 
1838  they  came  home  on  their  first  and  only  furlough. 
As  happens  in  such  a  case  with  a  popular  missionary, 
Moffat  immediately  found  himself  overwhelmed  with 
engagements.  The  clamorous  public  demanded  its  hero 
on  every  possible  occasion,  and  his  own  ardent  spirit 
made  him  only  too  willing  to  respond.  Amid  such 
distractions  Moffat  found  time  to  see  through  the  press 
the  Sechuana  New  Testament  and  to  publish  an  ac- 
count of  his  experiences  under  the  title  of  ''Labours 
and  Scenes  in  South  Africa.'"  The  most  notable  event 
of  this  visit,  however,  was  the  securing  of  a  powerful 
recruit  for  the  Bechuana  mission  in  the  person  of  David 
Livingstone,  who  sailed  for  the  Cape  in  1840,  taking 
with  him  500  copies  of  Moffat's  Sechuana  New  Testa- 
ment. The  Moffats  followed  in  1842.  Their  visit  to 
the  home  country,  following,  as  it  did,  immediately 
after  the  visit  of  John  Williams  from  the  South  Seas, 
gave  a  powerful  stimulus  to  missionary  effort  in  all 
the  Churches. 

The  return  to  Kuruman,  in  its  concluding  stages,  as- 
sumed the  appearance  of  a  triumphal  procession.  Liv- 
ingstone met  the  Moffats  at  the  Vaal  to  help  them 
across  the  river,  and  from  that  point  onwards  the  vil- 
lagers poured  out  with  boisterous  welcome.     Chiefs 


KOBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     45 

and  tribesmen  from  far  and  near  came  to  visit  their  old 
friends  whom  they  had  hardly  expected  to  see  again. 
Among  these  a  specially  welcome  visitor  was  Mothibi, 
the  paramount  chief  of  the  Bechuanas  who  had  but 
recently,  in  his  old  age,  professed  the  Christian  faith. 

Now  commenced  a  second  term  of  service  which  con- 
tinued without  a  break  for  twenty-seven  years  till  Mof- 
fat's retirement  in  1870.  During  this  period  his  fame 
was  gradually  overshadowed  by  the  supreme  romance 
and  glory  of  Livingstone,  but  the  achievements  of  the 
older  man  were  very  notable  and  he  retained  to  the  end 
the  adventurous  spirit  of  his  youth.  Livingstone  went 
to  open  a  new  station,  250  miles  north  of  Kuruman,  to 
which  he  soon  after  brought  his  bride,  the  younger 
Mary  Moffat.  In  the  subsequent  explorations  of  Liv- 
ingstone Moffat  naturally  took  a  deep  interest.  They 
were  entirely  in  accord  with  his  own  views.  He  had 
long  felt  that  the  missionary  advance  northward  from 
the  Cape  had  reached  its  limit.  "I  feel  persuaded," 
he  wrote  in  1840,  ''that  the  period  has  arrived  when 
we  must  abandon  the  idea  of  long,  expensive,  tiresome, 
and  in  some  instances  dangerous  journeys,  either  from 
the  promontory  of  the  Cape,  or  from  Algoa  Bay,  to 
remote  distances  in  the  interior.  It  is  now  quite  time 
to  look  to  the  eastern  and  western  coasts  of  the  con- 
tinent, and  form  a  chain  of  stations  from  either  or  both, 
towards  the  centre."  From  these  words  it  will  be  seen 
that  Livingstone  was  following  no  hasty  and  impulsive 
scheme  of  his  own. 

Another  determining  factor  in  the  situation  was  the 
hostility  of  the  Boers.  They  had  deliberately  resolved 
to  cut  the  chain  of  mission  stations  which  stretched 


46      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

towards  the  north  between  Transvaal  and  the  Kala- 
hari Desert,  and  thus  bar  the  way  to  the  interior.  In 
face  of  this  policy  Moffat  therefore  felt  that  Living- 
stone's journeys  were  a  vital  necessity  if  the  Gospel 
was  to  be  carried  to  the  teeming  millions  of  Central 
Africa. 

Meantime  at  Kuruman  the  arduous  routine  work  of 
a  mission  station  went  on  steadily  from  year  to  year. 
In  many  respects  the  second  stage  of  work  in  a  mission 
field  is  more  trying  than  the  first,  for  the  upward  prog- 
ress of  a  heathen  people  is  wavering  and  painfully 
slow.  Converts  suffer,  in  many  cases,  grievous  re- 
lapse, and  even  when  they  continue  steadfast  their  con- 
ceptions of  the  Christian  life  are  very  frequently  dis- 
appointing. So  we  find  Moffat  writing  sorrowfully 
in  185 1,  *'We  are  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season 
in  our  public  duties  and  in  the  work  of  translation,  but 
the  progress  is  slow,  very  slow."  Mary  Moffat  also, 
writing  to  her  father,  says,  ''There  is  much  to  discour- 
age, yet  we  feel  we  must  not  despair."  Very  sensibly 
she  recalls  the  state  of  the  people  thirty  years  before, 
and  reckons  up  the  progress  already  made.  Such 
thoughts  having  passed  through  her  mind  as  she  sat 
in  the  little  native  prayer  meeting  and  listened  to  the 
singing  of  the  Bechuana  Christians,  she  adds,  "I  came 
home  stronger  in  my  hopes  and  expectations  for  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  in  poor  Africa  than  I  had  been 
for  some  months." 

In  1853  Moffat  paid  his  third  visit  to  the  Matabele 
who  now  occupied  the  country  up  to  the  Zambesi.  He 
found  Mosilikatse,  the  once  proud  warrior  king,  now 
an  aged  cripple,  and  was  fortunately  able  to  restore  in 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     47 

some  measure  his  shattered  health.  One  object  of 
this  journey  was  to  convey  suppUes  to  the  Zambesi 
for  Livingstone  who  had  gone  into  the  unknown  in- 
terior the  previous  year.  Finding  it  impossible  to 
reach  the  Zambesi  in  his  wagon  Moffat  procured  Mata- 
bele  carriers  who  went  forward  with  the  supplies.  On 
reaching  the  river  they  left  the  packages  on  the  bank 
as  the  natives  could  not  be  induced  to  come  over  and 
receive  them.  After  the  departure  of  the  Matabele, 
however,  the  timid  river  folk  stored  the  goods  carefully 
on  an  island  where  Livingstone  found  them  all  safe 
on  his  arrival  from  the  west  coast. 

Moffat  returned  to  Kuruman  and  resumed  his  work 
of  preaching  and  teaching,  translating  and  printing. 
Meantime  Livingstone,  having  reached  the  west  coast 
at  Loanda,  recrossed  the  continent  to  the  east  coast  and 
carried  home  to  England  the  story  of  his  discoveries. 
The  great  interest  aroused  by  his  unparalleled  journey 
led  to  an  expansion  of  missionary  enterprise.  The  at- 
tention of  the  London  Missionary  Society  was  directed 
to  the  Matabele  on  the  south  side  of  the  Zambesi, 
and  to  the  Makololo,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river. 
Two  missionary  expeditions  were  fitted  out  to  com- 
mence work  among  these  tribes.  It  was  proposed 
that  Moffat  should  lead  the  expedition  to  the  Mata- 
bele, as  his  influence  with  Mosilikatse  would  do  much 
to  pave  the  way.  This  was  in  1857,  when  Moffat 
was  sixty-two  years  of  age  and  had  forty-one  years 
of  service  behind  him.  Far  from  refusing  this  new 
call  he  set  off  at  once  to  prepare  the  Matabele  for  the 
arrival  of  the  mission.  It  meant  a  seven  hundred  mile 
trek  to  the  northeast,  through  a  thirsty  and  difficult 


48     THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

country,  and  the  task  before  him  was  no  easy  one.  Mo- 
silikatse  had  confidence  in  Moffat  but  of  strangers  he 
was  suspicious.  Isolation  had  for  long  been  the  policy 
of  the  Matabele.  They  feared,  not  without  reason, 
that  the  advent  of  the  white  man  would  be  the  begin- 
ning of  the  end.  Moffat,  having  overcome  these  scru- 
ples and  obtained  a  reluctant  consent  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  mission,  now  hurried  south  to  Cape  Town 
to  meet  the  new  missionaries  and  to  say  good-bye  to 
Livingstone  who  was  going  out  to  his  post  as  British 
consul  on  the  Zambesi.  Among  the  missionaries  for 
Matabele  land  was  Moffat's  own  son  John,  whose  sal- 
ary for  five  years  was  guaranteed  by  Livingstone.  To 
him  Mrs.  Moffat  wrote  feelingly,  ''On  the  tenth  of  next 
month  it  will  be  twenty-five  years  since  I  parted  with 
your  father  when  he  visited  the  tyrant  Mosilikatse 
the  second  time,  he  being  then  the  terror  of  the  tribes 
in  the  latitudes  north  of  us,  and  it  was  deemed  prudent 
to  conciliate  him  that  the  interior  might  not  be  closed 
against  the  progress  of  the  Gospel.  How  little  did  I 
then  think  that  the  very  babe  who  sat  before  me  on 
his  nurse's  lap  was  destined  to  go  to  that  savage  peo- 
ple to  hold  before  them  the  lamp  of  eternal  life.  Un- 
able as  I  then  was  to  hold  you  in  my  embrace,  your 
sweet  smiles,  which  in  my  solitude  I  so  often  wit- 
nessed, are  yet  engraven  on  my  now  shattered  memory. 
Methinks  they  said,  'Cheer  up,  dear  mother,  though  you 
think  your  course  is  nearly  finished,  I  am  destined  to 
live  to  fulfil  your  heart's  desire.'  " 

In  1859  the  expeditions  to  the  Makololo  and  the  Ma- 
tabele set  out  from  Kuruman.  The  Makololo  mission 
was  a  disastrous  failure  and  forms  one  of  the  most 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     49 

tragic  episodes  in  missionary  history.  The  mission 
to  the  Matabele  was  estabHshed  only  by  the  influence 
and  efforts  of  Moffat  who  spent  a  year  with  that  war- 
like people,  soothing  their  suspicions  and  organising 
the  mission  station  at  Inyati.  His  activities  are  thus 
described  by  one  who  witnessed  them.  ''There  were 
houses  to  be  built,  wagons  to  be  repaired,  garden 
ground  to  be  broken  up.  Early  and  late  Moffat  was  to 
be  found  at  work,  always  at  work,  it  might  be  at  the 
saw-pit,  or  the  blacksmith's  forge,  or  the  carpenter's 
bench,  or  aiding  the  younger  men  where  their  own 
knowledge  and  skill  failed  them."  Having  completed 
his  work  he  took  his  last  leave  of  Mosilikatse  and  re- 
turned to  Kuruman. 

VII :     Farewell  %o  Kuruman 

The  closing  years  of  Moffat's  life  in  Africa  were 
as  busy  and  arduous  as  any,  though  less  romantic  and 
adventurous.  His  failing  strength  made  long  journeys 
impossible,  and  he  confined  his  energies  to  administer- 
ing the  affairs  of  the  central  station,  while  younger 
colleagues  went  farther  afield.  His  name  was  a  house- 
hold word  among  all  the  tribes  north  of  the  Orange 
River,  many  of  whom  believed  him  to  be  the  para- 
mount chief  of  the  white  men.  Unscrupulous  traders, 
taking  advantage  of  this,  represented  themselves  as  his 
agents,  delivered  messages  in  his  name,  and  declared 
that  they  dared  not  face  their  great  chief  at  Kuruman 
unless  they  got  more  ivory  and  better  prices  for  their 
goods. 

The  home  at  Kuruman  was  shadowed  again  and  again 


50      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

by  heavy  sorrows.  In  1862  the  Moffats'  eldest  son 
Robert  died  when  on  a  wagon  journey,  only  a  few 
hours  distant  from  Kuruman.  About  the  same  time  the 
sad  news  arrived  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Livingstone  on 
the  Zambesi.  In  1865  Moffat  himself  was  savagely 
attacked  by  a  crazy  native  armed  with  a  knobkerry  who 
struck  him  some  terrible  blows  that  endangered  his  life. 
It  was  months  before  he  recovered  from  the  shock. 
Next  year  M.  Fredoux,  a  French  missionary  who  had 
married  Ann  Moffat,  met  his  death  under  tragic  cir- 
icumstances.  He  was  endeavouring  to  reason  with  a 
trader  whose  atrocious  conduct  had  roused  the  hostility 
of  the  natives,  when  the  desperate  man  blew  up  his 
own  wagon  which  was  loaded  with  gunpowder,  in- 
stantly killing  Fredoux  and  himself  and  a  dozen  natives. 
The  long  day  of  service  was  drawing  to  a  close.  In 
1868  Moffat  was  joined  by  his  son  John,  at  Kuruman, 
in  whose  care  he  was  happy  to  think  he  would  leave 
his  beloved  work.  The  Directors  had  for  some  time 
been  urging  him  to  come  home,  and  he  now  felt  that 
his  strength  was  no  longer  equal  to  his  task.  In  1870 
he  took  his  last  farewell  of  the  people  among  whom  he 
had  laboured  for  more  than  half  a  century,  and  by 
whom  he  was  now  regarded  with  feelings  of  deepest 
veneration.  The  scene  is  thus  described  by  his  son. 
"On  Sunday  the  twentieth  of  March  Robert  Moffat 
preached  for  the  last  time  in  the  Kuruman  church. 
In  all  that  great  congregation  there  were  few  of  his 
own  contemporaries.  The  older  people  were  for  the 
most  part  children  at  the  time  when  they  had  first  seen 
the  missionaries.  With  a  pathetic  grace  peculiarly  his 
own,  he  pleaded  with  those  who  still  remained  unbe- 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     51 

lieving  amid  the  Gospel  privileges  they  had  now  en- 
joyed so  many  years.  With  a  fatherly  benediction  he 
commended  to  the  grace  of  God  those  who  had  been 
to  him  a  joy  and  crown.  It  was  an  impressive  close 
to  an  impressive  career.  On  Friday  following,  the  de- 
parture took  place.  The  final  scene  was  such  as  could 
scarcely  be  described  in  words.  As  the  old  missionary 
and  his  wife  came  out  of  their  door  and  walked  to  their 
wagon  they  were  beset  by  the  crowds,  each  longing 
for  one  more  touch  of  the  hand  and  one  more  word. 
As  the  wagon  drove  away  it  was  followed  by  all  who 
could  walk,  and  a  long  and  pitiful  wail  rose,  enough  to 
melt  the  hardest  heart." 

Amid  the  universal  sadness  it  must  have  been  an  in- 
spiration for  the  two  veterans  to  reflect  on  the  con- 
trast between  the  manner  of  their  departure  and  the 
reception  they  met  with  on  their  first  arrival.  Few 
workers  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  are  privileged  to  see  so 
profound  a  change  produced  as  the  result  of  their  la- 
bours. It  is  the  rich  reward  sometimes  given  to  those 
who  have  gone  forth  in  faith  into  the  wilderness  of 
heathenism,  to  sow  the  seed,  to  tend  and  water  it,  un- 
til at  last  they  gather  in  abundance  the  rich  fruits  of 
the  garden  of  God. 

VIII :  A  Missionary  to  the  Last 

^  iew  sentences  may  suffice  to  give  an  outline  of 
the  last  years  of  Moffat's  Hfe.  It  is  proof  of  the  ex- 
traordinary vitality  of  the  man  that,  having  come  home 
after  so  arduous  a  life,  he  continued  his  services  to  the 
missionary  cause  with  great  activity  for  thirteen  years. 
Even  the  death  of  his  wife  in  1872,  though  it  made 


52      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

him  feel  very  desolate  and  homeless,  did  not  crush  his 
spirit.  He  travelled  extensively  in  England  and  Scot- 
land on  missionary  deputation  work,  and  once  he  went 
as  far  as  Paris,  where  he  addressed  several  meetings, 
notably  a  great  gathering  of  4000  French  Protestant 
children.  Everywhere  he  went  his  presence  excited 
the  strongest  interest,  for  he  had  come  to  be  regarded 
by  universal  consent  as  *'the  venerable  father  of  the 
missionary  world."  Various  honours  were  conferred 
on  him,  including  an  audience  with  Queen  Victoria. 
Several  thousand  pounds  were  subscribed  for  a  Train- 
ing Institute  at  Kuruman,  and  Moffat  himself  received 
a  gift  of  £5000.  On  one  of  his  journeys  to  Scotland 
he  visited  the  home  of  his  boyhood,  where  he  had 
some  amusing  encounters  w^ith  his  old  school  fellows. 
Not  without  difficulty  did  he  convince  them  that  he 
was  really  *'the  great  Moffat." 

"Are  you  aware,  sir,"  said  the  village  tailor  oracu- 
larly, *'that  if  you  are  really  the  person  you  represent 
yourself  to  be,  you  must  be  the  father-in-law  of  Living- 
stone, the  African  expbrer." 

"And  so  I  am,"  said  Moffat. 

The  old  tailor  got  to  his  feet.  "Is  it  possible,"  he 
exclaimed,  "that  the  father-in-law  of  Livingstone 
stands  before  me,  and  under  my  humble  roof?" 

In  1874  the  body  of  Livingstone  was  brought  home 
to  England  and  interred  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Mof- 
fat escorted  the  remains  from  Southampton  to  Lon- 
don and  was  present  at  the  funeral  service  in  the  Ab- 
bey. To  him  it  was  a  deeply  affecting  occasion,  and 
must  have  brought  a  rush  of  memories  out  of  the  heroic 
past,  of  African  travel  and  toil. 


ROBERT  MOFFAT,  MISSIONARY  PIONEER     53 

His  last  days  were  spent  at  Park  Cottage,  Leigh, 
where,  tended  by  the  loving  care  of  his  daughter,  he 
died  on  August  lo,  1883.  Many  tributes  were  paid 
to  his  memory  and  the  value  of  his  work.  The  fol- 
lowing sentences  from  a  leading  article  in  the  Times 
may  serve  to  indicate  the  nation's  estimate  of  his  life. 
*'Dr.  Robert  Moffat  has  left  an  abiding  name  as  a  pio- 
neer of  modern  missionary  work  in  South  Africa.  .  .  . 
It  is  the  fashion  in  some  quarters  to  scoff  at  mission- 
aries, to  receive  their  reports  with  incredulity,  to  look 
at  them  at  the  best  as  no  more  than  harmless  enthusi- 
asts, proper  subjects  for  pity,  if  not  for  ridicule.  The 
records  of  missionary  work  in  South  Africa  must  be 
a  blank  page  to  those  by  whom  such  ideas  are  enter- 
tained. We  owe  it  to  our  missionaries  that  the  whole 
region  has  been  opened  up.  .  .  .  The  progress  of 
South  Africa  has  been  mainly  due  to  men  of  Moffat's 
stamp.  It  would  seem  indeed  that  it  is  only  by  the 
agency  of  such  men  as  Moffat  and  his  like  that  the  con- 
tact of  the  white  and  black  races  can  be  anything  but 
a  curse  to  the  blacks.  .  .  .  Moffat's  name  will  be  re- 
membered while  the  South  African  Church  endures, 
and  his  example  will  remain  with  us  as  a  stimulus  to 
others,  and  as  an  abiding  proof  of  what  a  Christian 
missionary  can  be  and  can  do." 


CHAPTER  III 

DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  MISSIONARY  EXPLORER 

David  Livingstone,  the  most  famous  of  the  mis- 
sionary heroes  of  Africa  and  the  prince  of  African 
explorers,  was  born  at  Blantyre  on  the  Clyde  on  the 
tenth  of  March,  1813.  He  came  of  highland  ancestry, 
his  great  grandfather  having  fallen  at  the  Battle  of  Cul- 
loden,  but  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  seek  here,  as  some 
have  done,  the  master  key  to  Livingstone's  character. 
His  Highland  pride  is  but  another  name  for  Scottish 
independence,  while  his  strong  common  sense  and 
pawky  humour,  his  resoluteness,  his  sturdy  democratic 
principles,  are  characteristic  of  the  Saxon  more  than  of 
the  Gael. 

I :     Blantyre  Mill 

His  father  was  an  itinerant  tea  dealer  who,  being  a 
man  of  ardent  religious  zeal,  acted  the  part  of  an  un- 
paid colporteur.  His  mother  is  described  as  '*a  deli- 
cate little  woman  with  a  wonderful  flow  of  good  spir- 
its, and  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  her  eyes,  to  which 
those  of  her  son  David  bore  a  strong  resemblance." 
The  two-roomed  house  in  Blantyre  must  have  been 
sadly  overcrowded  as  five  children  grew  up  in  it,  but 
it  was  a  home  where  the  sterling  Christian  character 
of  the  parents,  the  mother's  gentleness  blending  with 
the  father's  strictness,  impressed  upon  their  children's 

54 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        55 

minds  the  fear  of  God.  The  boys  had  to  begin  work 
early  in  order  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  family. 
Accordingly  at  the  age  of  ten  David  was  sent  to  the 
cotton  mill  which  stands  on  the  bank  of  the  Clyde,  a 
stone's  throw  from  his  home. 

His  hours  of  work  were  from  6  a.m.  to  8  p.m.,  and 
after  that  he  would  rush  off  to  an  evening  school  from 
8  to  10.  Returning  home  he  often  pursued  his  studies 
till  midnight,  when  his  mother  would  snatch  away  his 
book  and  pack  him  off  to  bed.  From  an  early  age  his 
ambition  was  to  become  a  medical  missionary  in  China. 
With  this  end  in  view  he  attended  classes  in  Glasgow 
during  the  winter  season  and  returned  to  his  loom  in 
Blantyre  mill  for  the  summer.  *'I  never  received  a 
farthing  of  aid  from  anyone,"  he  wrote  afterwards, 
"and  should  have  accomplished  my  project  of  going  to 
China  as  a  medical  missionary  in  the  course  of  time  by 
my  own  efforts,  had  not  some  friends  advised  my  join- 
ing the  London  Missionary  Society  on  account  of  its 
perfectly  unsectarian  character." 

His  application  to  the  Society  being  favourably  en- 
tertained, he  was  summoned  to  London  for  examina- 
tion. While  there  he  went  with  a  fellow-student  to  visit 
Westminster  Abbey.  How  little  could  he  have  dreamed 
as  he  gazed  around  him  at  the  monuments  of  the  mighty 
dead  that  he  was  standing  upon  his  own  grave !  Mean- 
time war  with  China  had  closed  that  door  and  Living- 
stone's thoughts  now  began  to  turn  towards  Africa. 
This  was  due  mainly  to  the  influence  of  Dr.  Moffat 
who  had  come  home  on  furlough  and  was  powerfully 
stirring  the  churches  by  his  addresses  and  writings. 
After  several  talks  with  him  Livingstone  said,  ''What 


56      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

is  the  use  of  my  waiting  for  the  end  of  this  abominable 
opium  war?  I  will  go  at  once  to  Africa!"  He  sailed 
for  the  Cape  on  the  8th  of  December,  1840.  It  was 
very  characteristic  of  him  that  the  three  months'  voy- 
age was  mainly  spent  in  learning  from  the  captain  of 
the  ship  as  much  as  possible  of  the  art  of  navigation. 
"He  was  very  obliging  to  me,"  writes  Livingstone,  ''and 
gave  me  all  the  information  in  his  power  respecting  the 
use  of  the  quadrant,  frequently  sitting  up  till  twelve 
o'clock  at  night  for  the  purpose  of  taking  lunar  ob- 
servations with  me." 

II :     The  Valley  of  Mahotsa 

Livingstone's  instructions  from  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  were  to  proceed  to  Kuruman  and  from 
there  to  prospect  for  the  opening  of  a  new  mission 
station  among  the  tribes  to  the  north.  After  various 
journeys  he  selected  *'the  beautiful  valley  of  Mabotsa," 
and  thither  he  removed  in  1843.  ^^  ^^^  while  at  Ma- 
botsa that  he  was  attacked  by  a  wounded  lion  and  only 
rescued  by  the  courage  of  his  native  teacher,  Mebalwe, 
and  another  man  whose  life  he  had  previously  saved. 
His  left  arm,  however,  was  shattered  above  the  elbow, 
producing  a  false  joint.  It  is  one  of  the  most  amaz- 
ing facts  in  the  story  of  Livingstone  that  through  all 
his  subsequent  labours  and  mighty  wanderings  he  was 
a  crippled  man,  with  one  arm  so  maimed  that  it  was 
painful  to  lift  a  gun  or  raise  his  left  hand  to  his  head- 
He  soon  found  a  comforter,  for  on  going  to  Kuru- 
man to  recruit  his  health  he  became  engaged  to  Dr. 
Moffat's  eldest  daughter,  Mary.     They  were  married 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        57 

shortly  afterwards  and  spent  at  Mabotsa  the  first  happy- 
year  of  their  married  life.  In  1846  the  Livingstones 
moved  to  Chonuane,  where  was  the  kraal  of  Sechele, 
the  chief  of  the  Bakwains.  Drought,  however,  soon 
compelled  the  removal  of  the  tribe  to  Kolobeng,  which 
was  Livingstone's  home  till  he  set  out  on  his  great 
journey  across  Africa  in  1852.  It  was  the  only  home 
he  ever  had,  and  when,  twenty  years  after,  in  his  lonely 
wanderings,  he  looked  back  to  it  with  fond  longing,  he 
felt  but  one  pang  of  regret,  that  he  had  not  played  with 
his  children  more  when  he  had  them,  now  he  had  none 
to  play  with.  He  had  usually  been  so  tired  at  night,  he 
says  pathetically,  that  there  was  no  fun  left  in  him. 

The  chief,  Sechele,  on  first  hearing  the  Gospel,  was 
much  affected  and  asked  Livingstone,  ''How  is  it  that 
your  forefathers  did  not  send  to  my  forefathers  news 
of  these  things  sooner?"  Surely  a  pertinent  question, 
and  one  not  easily  answered.  He  became  an  eager 
learner,  and  in  1848  made  open  profession  of  his 
Christian  faith.  His  subsequent  career,  however,  ren- 
dered that  profession  of  doubtful  value,  for,  though 
he  became  extraordinarily  well  versed  in  Scripture  and 
preached  with  earnestness,  he  still  persisted  in  some 
heathen  practices.  The  spirit  of  Livingstone's  min- 
istry may  be  gathered  from  a  sentence  in  a  letter  to 
his  father,  written  in  July,  1848.  "For  a  long  time  I 
felt  much  depressed  after  preaching  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ  to  apparently  insensible  hearts,  but 
now  I  like  to  dwell  on  the  love  of  the  great  Mediator, 
for  it  always  warms  my  own  heart,  and  I  know  that 
the  Gospel  is  the  power  of  God,  the  great  means 
that  He  employs  for  the  regeneration  of  our  ruined 


( 


58      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

world."  It  may  be  said,  once  for  all,  that  he  held  this 
conviction  to  the  last,  and  never  ceased  to  be  a  mis- 
sionary-preacher of  this  evangel. 

During  this  period  Livingstone's  eyes  were  continu- 
ally directed  towards  the  north.  The  country  around 
Kolobeng  was  barren  and  thinly  populated,  while  the 
security  of  the  inhabitants  was  threatened  from  the 
east  and  northeast  by  the  Boers  and  the  Matabele. 
There  were  reports  of  more  fertile  and  populous  re- 
gions beyond  the  Kalahari  Desert  to  the  north,  where 
a  powerful  chief,  Sebituane,  had  established  himself. 
Sechele  was  willing  to  remove  his  tribe  thither  if  it 
were  found  feasible.  No  doubt  also  Livingstone  had 
a  laudable  ambition  to  be  the  first  white  man  to  reach 
the  rumoured  lake  in  the  interior,  which  up  till  then 
had  baffled  repeated  and  determined  attempts  of  ex- 
plorers from  the  Cape. 

Accordingly  he  set  out  from  Kolobeng  with  two 
English  hunters,  Mr.  Oswell  and  Mr.  Murray,  and  af- 
ter an  arduous  journey  across  the  desert  reached  Lake 
Ngami  on  August  i,  1849.  The  discovery  of  this 
lake,  though  eclipsed  by  Livingstone's  subsequent 
achievements,  was  a  remarkable  feat,  and  gained  for 
him  a  grant  from  the  Royal  Geographical  Society.  A 
vague  impression  prevailed  that  the  centre  of  Africa 
was  one  vast  desert.  The  Kalahari  was  spoken  of  as 
the  Southern  Sahara.  Yet  here,  in  the  heart  of  it, 
was  an  extensive  fresh  water  lake,  with  a  fine  river 
watering  a  fertile  plain.  Sebituane's  country,  however, 
was  still  farther  to  the  north.  Next  year  Livingstone 
again  set  out  from  Kuruman,  with  his  wife  and  chil- 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        59 

dren  and  Mr.  Oswell,  but  owing  to  fever  they  were 
not  able  to  penetrate  beyond  Lake  Ngami. 

A  third  attempt,  in  1851,  was  successful,  and  re- 
sulted in  the  discovery  of  a  glorious  river,  known  to 
the  natives  as  the  Sesheke  or  Liambai,  which  proved 
to  be  the  upper  Zambesi.  Here  Sebituane  had  es- 
tablished himself  and  ruled  over  a  wide  domain.  His 
career  had  been  a  romantic  one.  Born  in  Basutoland,- 
he  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  wild  horde  of  Mantiti 
who  were  routed  at  Kuruman  by  the  Griquas  in  1821. 
Pursuing  his  way  north  with  a  shattered  remnant  of 
his  people,  the  Makololo  as  they  came  to  be  called,  he 
conquered  the  Barotsi  who  inhabited  the  wide  valley 
of  the  Zambesi,  and  imposed  on  them  the  language  of 
the  Basutos.  This  afterwards  had  a  remarkable  in- 
fluence in  leading  to  the  evangelisation  of  the  country 
by  M.  Coillard. 

Sebituane  gave  Livingstone  a  hearty  welcome,  but 
very  shortly  afterwards  he  took  ill  and  died.  Living- 
stone was  deeply  moved  by  his  death,  both  on  personal 
grounds  and  because  it  seemed  to  imperil  the  vast  en- 
terprise which  had  now  taken  definite  shape  in  his  mind 
and  became,  henceforth,  the  master  passion  of  his  life. 

Ill :     The  Road  to  the  North 

This  enterprise  was  the  opening  up  of  Central  Africa 
to  civilisation  and  the  Gospel.  Various  influences,  act- 
ing on  his  mind  since  he  landed  in  Africa,  had  combined 
to  turn  his  thoughts  in  this  direction,  till  at  last  it  grew 
to  an  invincible  conviction  that  here  was  the  divinely 
appointed  path  for  him.     For  one  thing,  he  early  took 


60      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

the  view  that  the  number  of  missionaries  in  the  Colony 
was  excessive  in  proportion  to  the  population  and  in 
view  of  the  vast  needs  of  Africa.  In  1843  we  find  him 
making  strong  representations  to  the  London  Mission- 
ary Society  on  the  subject.  He  held  that  the  European 
missionary  should  continually  advance  to  the  occupa- 
tion of  new  fields,  leaving  his  work  to  be  followed  up 
by  native  teachers.  This  policy  was  opposed  by  many 
missionaries  of  experience,  and  it  must  be  admitted 
that  time  has  not  altogether  confirmed  Livingstone's 
high  estimate  of  the  efficiency  of  the  native  teacher, 
and  especially  of  his  power  to  work  alone. 

Another  influence  was  the  difficulty  of  transport. 
Pondering  the  problem  of  a  farther  advance  into  the 
interior,  Livingstone  could  not  but  see,  as  Moffat  had 
seen  before  him,  that  the  limit  of  expansion  north- 
ward from  the  Cape  had  been  reached.  No  Cape  to 
Cairo  railway  was  then  so  much  as  dreamed  of,  and  the 
tedious  ox  wagon,  consuming  months  in  the  journey 
from  Cape  Town,  and  now  faced  with  the  terrible 
Kalahari  Desert,  obviously  could  do  no  more.  Ac- 
cordingly we  find  Livingstone  writing  in  1850,  ''When 
we  burst  through  the  barrier  on  the  north,  it  appeared 
very  plain  that  no  mission  could  be  successful  there, 
unless  we  could  get  a  well  watered  country  having 
a  passage  to  the  sea  on  either  the  east  or  west  coast. 
This  project  I  am  almost  afraid  to  meet,  but  nothing 
else  will  do." 

Another  determining  influence  was  the  attitude  of 
the  Boers  of  the  Transvaal.  It  may  appear  incredible 
that  men  calling  themselves  Protestant  Christians,  de- 
scendants also  of  the  persecuted  Church  of  the  Neth- 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        61 

erlands,  should  have  acted  as  these  Boers  did.  But 
they  were,  in  the  main,  composed  of  the  most  igno- 
rant and  brutal  elements  of  the  Dutch  colonists,  who 
had  trekked  into  the  wilds  to  escape  from  contact  with 
civilisation.  They  believed  themselves  to  be  God's 
chosen  people,  and  the  natives  they  regarded  as  the 
Canaanites,  to  be  dispossessed,  slaughtered  and  en- 
slaved. There  was  a  vague  impression  among  them 
that  the  Promised  Land  was  somewhere  to  the  north 
and  might  one  day  be  reached  by  their  wagons.  With 
such  views  they  became  the  determined  opponents  of 
missions  to  the  natives,  and  were  resolved  to  close  the 
road  to  the  north  both  to  the  missionary  and  to  the 
trader.  Accordingly  they  ordered  the  Bechuanas  to 
stop  all  white  travellers  going  through  their  country 
and  threatened  to  attack  any  tribe  that  would  receive 
a  native  teacher.  ''The  Boers,"  writes  Livingstone, 
"resolved  to  shut  up  the  interior,  and  I  determined  to 
open  the  country,  and  we  shall  see  who  have  been  most 
successful  in  resolution — they  or  I."  Truly  we  shall 
see. 

Being  thus  resolved,  Livingstone  returned  to  Kolo- 
beng  to  make  preparations  for  his  great  adventure. 
First  he  travelled  to  Cape  Town  with  his  family  to 
send  them  home  to  Scotland,  and  to  procure  necessary 
supplies  for  himself.  When  Mrs.  Livingstone  and  the 
four  children  sailed  from  Cape  Town  on  April  23, 
1852,  Livingstone  saw  the  final  breaking  up  of  his 
home.  Malicious  tongues  whispered  in  after  years  that 
his  home  life  had  never  been  happy,  a  slander  which 
caused  both  him  and  his  wife  the  keenest  pain.  The 
following  letter,  written  shortly  after  their  separation, 


62      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

may  be  quoted  for  its  exquisite  beauty  and  to  show  the 
tenderness  of  their  love." 

"My  dearest  Mary,  How  I  miss  you  now,  and  the 
dear  children !  My  heart  yearns  incessantly  over  you. 
You  have  been  a  great  blessing  to  me.  May  God  bless 
you'for  all  your  kindnesses!  I  see  no  face  now  to  be 
compared  to  that  sunburnt  one  which  has  so  often 
greeted  me  with  its  kind  looks.  Let  us  do  our  duty 
to  our  Saviour,  and  we  shall  meet  again.  I  wish  that 
time  were  now.  You  may  read  the  letters  over  again 
which  I  wrote  at  Mabotsa,  the  sweet  time  you  know. 
As  I  told  you  before,  I  tell  you  again,  they  are  true, 
true.  There  is  not  a  bit  of  hypocrisy  in  them.  I  never 
show  all  my  feelings,  but  I  can  say  truly,  my  dearest, 
that  I  loved  you  when  I  married  you,  and  the  longer 
I  lived  with  you,  I  loved  you  the  better.  .  .  .  Take  the 
children  round  you  and  kiss  them  for  me.  Tell  them 
I  have  left  them  for  the  love  of  Jesus,  and  they  must 
love  him  too." 

Not  every  husband  would  bid  his  wife  read  over 
again  his  old  love  letters,  and  stand  to  every  word  of 
them,  nor  are  there  many  wives,  perhaps,  who  would 
break  into  a  rapturous  poetic  welcome  on  their  hus- 
band's return,  as  did  Mary  Moffat  when  Livingstone 
came  home  in  1856. 

On  the  8th  of  June  Livingstone  left  the  Cape  in 
his  wagon  and  reached  Kuruman  at  the  end  of  Au- 
gust. Here  he  was  detained  by  the  breaking  of  a 
wagon  wheel — fortunately,  as  it  proved.  For  news  ar- 
rived that  the  Boers,  under  Pretorius,  had  attacked 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        63 

Kolobeng,  burned  the  town  and  killed  or  captured  the 
people.  Had  Livingstone  been  at  home  at  the  time  of 
the  attack  he  would  probably  have  been  killed,  for  Pre- 
torius  had  threatened  to  take  his  life.  He  would  cer- 
tainly have  lost  all  his  stores.  The  Boers  left  his  home 
a  wreck.  **My  house,"  he  writes,  ''which  had  stood 
perfectly  secure  for  years  under  the  protection  of  the 
natives,  was  plundered.  .  .  .  The  books  of  a  good 
library — my  solace  in  our  solitude, — were  not  taken 
away,  but  handfuls  of  the  leaves  were  torn  out  and 
scattered  over  the  place.  My  stock  of  medicines  was 
smashed,  and  all  our  furniture  and  clothing  carried  off 
and  sold  at  public  auction  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
foray." 

After  this  outrage  Livingstone  was  more  deter- 
mined than  ever  *'to  open  a  path  through  the  country 
or  perish !"  Leaving  Kuruman  and  making  a  wide  de- 
tour to  the  west  to  avoid  the  Boers,  he  once  more  crossed 
the  Kalahari  Desert  and  in  June,  1853,  reached  Lin- 
yanti,  the  capital  of  the  Makololo  country.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  the  Chobe,  a  tributary  of  the  Zambesi,  about 
a  hundred  miles  south  of  that  river.  Here  Livingstone 
was  welcomed  by  Sekeletu,  the  son  of  his  old  friend 
Sebituane,  and  he  speedily  acquired  great  influence  over 
the  young  chief  and  his  people.  After  a  month  spent 
at  Linyanti  he  persuaded  Sekeletu  to  accompany  him 
on  a  tour  through  the  Barotsi  country.  Having  crossed 
the  intervening  flat,  they  struck  the  Zambesi  at  Sesheke, 
some  miles  west  of  where  the  town  of  Livingstone  now 
stands,  and  embarking  in  canoes  they  sailed  a  consid- 
erable distance  up  the  river.  No  healthy  site  for  a 
mission  station,  however,  could  be  found.    The  whole 


64.      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

country  was  a  vast  plain,  inundated  annually  by  the 
river,  and  choked  with  rank  vegetation  which  made  it 
unhealthy  at  all  seasons.  After  nine  weeks  a  return 
was  made  to  Linyanti.  Of  his  experiences  at  this  time 
Livingstone  wrote,  "I  have  been,  during  a  nine  weeks' 
tour,  in  closer  contact  with  heathenism  than  I  had  ever 
been  before,  and  though  all,  including  the  chief,  were 
as  kind  and  attentive  to  me  as  possible,  yet  to  endure 
the  dancing,  roaring,  and  singing,  the  jesting,  anec- 
dotes, grumbling,  quarrelling,  and  murdering  of  these 
children  of  nature,  seemed  more  like  a  severe  penance 
than  anything  I  had  before  met  with  in  the  course  of 
my  missionary  duties.  I  took  thence  a  more  intense 
disgust  at  heathenism  than  before,  and  formed  a  greatly 
elevated  opinion  of  the  latent  effects  of  missions  in 
the  south,  among  tribes  which  are  reported  to  have 
been  as  savage  as  the  Makololo." 

IV:     Crossing  the  Continent 

The  more  daring  scheme  of  opening  a  way  to  the 
west  coast  caught  the  imagination  of  Sekeletu  and  his 
people,  and  it  should  never  be  forgotten  that  only  by 
their  help  was  Livingstone  enabled  to  cross  the  con- 
tinent. After  discussion  in  the  tribal  assembly  twenty- 
seven  men  were  appointed  to  accompany  him.  They 
became  famous  as  his  Makololo,  but  he  more  correctly 
calls  them  Zambesians,  for  only  two  of  the  number 
were  genuine  Makololo,  the  rest  were  Barotsi  and 
other  natives  of  the  valley.  The  plan  proposed  by 
Livingstone  was  to  ascend  the  Zambesi  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, and  from  its  head  waters  to  strike  northwest  to 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        65 

Loanda  on  the  coast.  A  nearer  point  on  the  coast  was 
Benguela,  but  in  that  direction  Portuguese  slave 
traders  had  been  active,  and  Livingstone  knew  it  to  be 
dangerous  to  follow  in  their  track. 

The  journey  from  Linyanti  to  Loanda  occupied  six 
and  a  half  months,  from  November  ii,  1853,  to  May 
31,  1854.  It  was  the  greatest  feat  of  African  travel 
yet  accomplished,  and  displayed  to  the  full  Living- 
stone's extraordinary  qualities  as  an  explorer.  Plis 
journal  records  an  interminable  succession  of  tribes  and 
villages,  never  before  visited  by  a  white  man.  After 
ascending  the  Zambesi  and  the  Leeba  by  canoe  the 
carriers  advanced  on  foot,  while  Livingstone  rode  as 
much  as  possible  on  oxback.  The  rainy  season  had 
now  set  in  and  they  found  immense  flats  where  the 
water  stood  knee  deep  in  the  grass.  Some  of  these 
were  as  much  as  twenty  miles  in  width.  Across  these 
flats  they  had  perforce  to  wade,  sometimes  for  days  on 
end,  under  pitiless  rain  and  with  an  occasional  flooded 
river  to  swim.  Throughout  the  whole  journey  Liv- 
ingstone suffered  from  recurrent  attacks  of  fever,  and 
sometimes  lay  in  his  hut  unconscious.  He  has  been 
blamed  for  gross  disregard  of  his  health,  in  travelling 
without  proper  camp  equipment,  subsisting  on  native 
food,  and  often  sleeping  on  the  ground  in  wet  clothes. 
It  may  be  replied  that  he  had  to  do  his  work  with  the 
resources  at  his  disposal,  and  no  other  traveller,  even 
with  the  best  of  equipment,  has  equalled  his  record. 
Careless  he  was  not,  nor  slow  to  learn  by  experience. 
Having  felt  the  chilling,  depressing  influence  of  heavy 
rain,  especially  upon  the  naked  bodies  of  the  men,  he 
taught  them  to  take  shelter  or  to  make  a  rude  thatch 


66      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

of  grass  for  their  backs  when  the  rain  came  on,  and 
had  fewer  cases  of  fever  in  consequence.  "A  mission- 
ary," he  wrote,  "must  never  forget  that,  in  the  tropics, 
he  is  an  exotic  plant.  In  a  hot  cHmate  efficiency  mainly 
depends  on  husbanding  the  resources." 

The  tribes  through  whose  country  he  passed  were  in 
general  disposed  to  be  friendly  when  treated  with  cour- 
tesy and  enlightened  as  to  the  object  of  the  journey. 
Some,  however,  were  tyrannous  and  threatening.  It 
has  been  claimed  for  Livingstone,  as  the  brightest  star 
in  his  crown,  that  he  crossed  Africa  without  firing  an 
angry  shot.  There  were  moments  on  this  journey  when 
that  record  came  perilously  near  being  broken.  Some- 
times a  demand  was  made  for  "a  gun,  an  ox,  or  a  man." 
Occasionally  an  ox  had  to  be  surrendered,  but  Living- 
stone declared  that  before  he  would  sell  one  of  his  men 
they  would  all  die  together.  He  was  no  pacifist.  *'We 
would  do  almost  anything,"  he  says,  "to  avoid  a  collision 
with  degraded  natives,  but  in  the  case  of  an  invasion — 
our  blood  boils  at  the  very  thought  of  our  wives,  daugh- 
ters, or  sisters  being  touched — we,  as  men  with  human 
feelings,  would  unhesitatingly  fight  to  the  death,  with 
all  the  fury  in  our  power." 

Throughout  these  trials  and  perils  the  Makololo  be- 
haved admirably  on  the  whole.  Only  once,  when  Liv- 
ingstone was  down  with  fever,  did  some  of  them  show 
a  spirit  of  mutiny,  but  his  sudden  appearance  from 
the  hut,  haggard  and  angry,  with  his  pistols  in  his 
hands,  quelled  the  malcontents  in  a  moment.  In  the 
Chiboque  country  a  hostile  chief  tried  to  pick  a  quar- 
rel by  alleging  that  one  of  the  carriers,  in  spitting,  had 
touched  one  of  his  people.    Extravagant  demands  were 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        67 

made  for  compensation,  and  savage  warriors  danced 
round  threateningly.  Livingstone  sat  with  his  double- 
barrelled  gun  across  his  knees,  ready  to  fire  at  the  first 
attack.  At  length,  by  patience  and  tact  and  the  peace- 
offering  of  an  ox,  the  danger  was  surmounted.  As 
they  neared  Portuguese  territory  the  local  chiefs  be- 
came more  troublesome  in  their  demands.  They  had 
been  accustomed  to  exact  tribute  from  the  slave  traders 
who,  being  encumbered  with  gangs  of  unwilling  cap- 
tives, were  glad  to  pay  a  heavy  price  for  permission  to 
proceed  coastwise  with  their  booty.  These  traders, 
though  called  Portuguese,^  were  half-castes  with  woolly 
hair.  Livingstone's  men  were  careful  to  point  out  to 
the  natives  that  he  alone  was  a  genuine  specimen  of 
"the  white  men  who  come  out  of  the  sea."  ''Look  at 
his  hair,"  they  said,  ''washed  straight  by  the  water!" 
A  steep  descent  from  the  plateau  of  the  interior, 
through  narrow  glens,  brought  the  travellers  to  the 
fine  valley  of  the  Quango.  With  some  difficulty  they 
crossed  the  river  and  set  foot  on  Portuguese  territory. 
Here  they  received  a  most  kindly  welcome  from  Cypri- 
ano,  a  young  half-caste  Portuguese  sergeant  of  militia. 
This  was  the  first  instance  of  that  warm  hearted  hos- 
pitality which  Livingstone  received  from  the  Portu- 
guese as  he  travelled  down  to  the  coast,  a  hospitality 
which  did  much  to  restore  his  shattered  health,  and 
which  moved  him  to  expressions  of  the  deepest  grati- 
tude. At  last  the  ocean  came  in  sight.  Unlike  Xeno- 
phon's  men,  who  hailed  the  familiar  sight  with  joy, 
Livingstone's  followers  were  struck  dumb  with  awe. 
Describing  their  feelings  afterwards  they  said,  "We 
marched  along  with  our  father,  believing  that  what  the 


68      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

ancients  had  always  told  us  was  true,  that  the  world 
has  no  end.  But  all  at  once  the  world  said  to  us,  'I  am 
finished,  there  is  no  more  of  me.'  " 

Livingstone  entered  Loanda  little  better  than  a  walk- 
ing skeleton,  but  he  found  a  home  in  the  house  of  Mr. 
Gabriel,  the  British  consul,  and  in  a  few  minutes  was 
enjoying  delicious  sleep  in  an  English  bed.  He  after- 
wards had  a  severe  and  prolonged  relapse,  but  on  re- 
covering he  was  thankful  to  find  that  he  was  free  from 
lassitude  and  like  his  old  self  again.  He  was  now  of- 
fered a  passage  home  in  a  British  warship  but  he  de- 
clined the  tempting  offer.  He  knew  that  the  Makalolo 
would  be  quite  unable  to  make  their  way  back  alone 
through  the  hostile  tribes  on  the  way,  and  he  felt  him- 
self in  honour  bound  to  take  them  home  to  their  chief. 
His  journey  also  had  proved  that  there  was  no  prac- 
ticable route  for  wagons  to  the  west  coast.  He  there- 
fore resolved  to  return  to  the  interior  with  the  view  of 
trying  to  find  a  path  to  the  east  coast  by  following  the 
course  of  the  Zambesi.  As  we  shall  see,  this  scrupu- 
lous honour  in  restoring  his  men  to  their  homes  had 
its  exact  counterpart  and  recompense  when  those  who 
followed  him  in  his  last  journey,  led  by  two  Zam- 
besians,  Susi  and  Chuma,  carried  his  body  for  nine 
months  to  the  coast,  in  order  to  deliver  it  to  his  people. 

The  return  journey  from  Loanda  to  the  interior  oc- 
cupied a  year,  from  September,  1854,  to  September, 
1855.  A  considerable  part  of  that  time,  however,  was 
spent  in  the  hinterland  of  the  Portuguese  colony,  where 
Livingstone,  on  hearing  of  the  wreck  of  the  mailboat  in 
which  he  had  sent  home  his  letters,  maps  and  journals, 
sat  down  and  patiently  reproduced  the  whole  of  them 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER         69 

before  he  buried  himself  once  more  in  the  wilds.  Then 
he  led  his  men  homewards.  On  reaching  their  own 
people  in  Zambesi  valley  they  had  a  great  ovation,  and 
little  wonder.  For  had  they  not  gone  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth  and  returned  safe,  with  not  a  man  missing? 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  Sesheke  Livingstone  had  the 
pleasure  of  finding  some  packages  of  goods  which  Dr. 
Mofifat  had  succeeded  in  sending  north  a  year  before 
by  Matabele  carriers  and  which  had  been  safely  stored 
on  an  island  in  the  river.  Sekeletu  was  delighted  with 
the  results  of  the  expedition,  opening,  as  it  did,  the  pros- 
pect of  peaceful  commerce  with  the  white  man.  He 
therefore  readily  entered  into  Livingstone's  plan  of  find- 
ing a  path  to  the  east  coast  by  following  the  Zambesi 
to  the  sea. 

After  six  weeks  spent  in  preparation,  the  new  expe- 
dition started  from  Linyanti  on  November  3,  1855, 
and  the  east  coast  was  reached  at  Quilimane  on  May 
21,  1856.  This  second  and  more  numerous  caravan, 
like  the  first,  was  equipped  at  the  expense  of  the  chief. 
Livingstone  cordially  acknowledges  this.  ''The  Mako- 
lolo  again  fitted  me  out.  I  was  thus  dependent  on  their 
bounty,  and  that  of  other  Africans,  for  the  means  of 
going  from  Linyanti  to  Loanda,  and  again  from  Lin- 
yanti to  the  east  coast,  and  I  feel  deeply  grateful  to 
them."  No  stronger  proof  could  be  given  of  Living- 
stone's extraordinary  influence  over  the  minds  of  the 
Africans,  and  it  must  ever  redound  to  their  honour  that 
the  greatest  and  most  successful  of  all  his  journeys  was 
accomplished  by  their  help  alone. 

Sekeletu  convoyed  Livingstone  for  the  first  part  of 
the  way,  and  together  they  visited  the  Falls  of  the 


70      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

Zambesi,  a  greater  and  in  every  respect  more  wonder- 
ful Niagara,  as  every  traveller  who  has  seen  both  will 
at  once  admit.  Livingstone  had  heard  from  the  natives 
the  fame  of  the  place  "where  smoke  sounds,"  a  place 
which  they  shunned  with  superstitious  awe.  Now  he 
saw  it  for  the  first  time  and  bestowed  the  name  of  the 
Victoria  Falls.  Here  the  mighty  river,  more  than  a  mile 
wide,  flowing  through  an  open  plain,  is  suddenly  pre- 
cipitated headlong  into  a  narrow  ravine,  four  hundred 
feet  deep,  where  its  waters  are  tortured  and  pulver- 
ised till  clouds  of  steam  rush  up  from  the  abyss, 
and  tower  in  lofty  pillars  to  the  sky.  How  little  could 
Livingstone  have  imagined  that  in  less  than  fifty  years 
the  gorge  would  be  bridged  and  the  thunder  of  express 
trains  would  mingle  with  the  solemn  sound  of  the  fall- 
ing water!  So  swiftly  fruitful  has  been  his  work  of 
opening  Central  Africa. 

The  route  chosen  was  along  the  north  bank  of  the 
Zambesi,  because  on  the  map  Tette,  the  farthest  up- 
river  setlement  of  the  Portuguese,  was  erroneously 
marked  as  on  that  side  of  the  river.  Livingstone  had 
therefore  to  cross  the  Kafue  and  the  Loangwa,  two 
considerable  tributaries  which  flow  from  the  north, 
and  then  he  had  to  cross  the  Zambesi  itself  in  order  to 
reach  Tette.  As  on  the  journey  to  Loanda,  so  here 
he  found  the  tribes  more  hostile  in  the  vicinity  of  Por- 
tuguese territory.  At  the  crossing  of  the  Loangwa  the 
whole  expedition  seemed  in  imminent  danger  of  an- 
nihilation. Livingstone  passed  a  troubled  night,  as  the 
following  entry  in  his  journal  shows.  "Felt  much  tur- 
moil of  spirit  in  view  of  having  all  my  plans  for  the 
welfare  of  this  great  region  and  teeming  population 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        71 

knocked  on  the  head  by  savages  to-morrow.  But  I 
read  that  Jesus  came  and  said,  'All  power  is  given  unto 
me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  yet  therefore  and  teach 
all  nations — and  lo,  /  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world.'  It  is  the  word  of  a  gentleman 
of  the  most  sacred  and  strictest  honour,  and  there's  an 
end  on't.  I  will  not  cross  furtively  by  night  as  I  in- 
tended. It  would  appear  as  flight,  and  should  such  a 
man  as  I  flee?  Nay,  verily,  I  shall  take  observations 
for  latitude  and  longitude  to-night,  though  they  may 
be  the  last.    I  feel  quite  calm  now,  thank  God." 

Once  again  faith  was  justified,  tact  and  patience  pre- 
vailed, and  the  crossing  was  made  in  safety.  On  reach- 
ing Tette  Livingstone  was  received  with  the  same 
kindness  as  he  had  experienced  on  the  west  coast  at  the 
hands  of  the  Portuguese.  Here  he  left  his  Makololo 
carriers,  promising  that  only  death  would  hinder  his  re- 
turn from  England  to  take  them  home  again.  Travel- 
ling down  the  river  he  reached  the  coast  at  Quilimane, 
and  thus  completed  his  great,  transcontinental  journey. 
It  was  an  achievement  such  as  could  not  have  been  con- 
sidered possible  till  it  was  actually  done,  and  when  the 
whole  circumstances  are  taken  account  of,  it  must  be 
reckoned  the  greatest  feat  of  exploration  ever  accom- 
plished. One  does  not  know  which  to  admire  most, 
the  iron  constitution  and  resolute  will  of  the  man,  or 
his  patient  courtesy  and  good  sense,  or  his  sanity  and 
humour,  or  his  dauntless  faith.  All  combined  in  a 
wonderful  degree  to  make  Livingstone  the  man  he  was 
and  to  enable  him  to  do  the  work  he  did.  It  was  said  of 
him,  even  in  his  student  days,  "Fire,  water,  and  a  stone 
wall  would  not  stop  Livingstone  in  the  fulfilment  of 


72      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

any  recognised  duty."  Yet  with  all  his  natural  strength 
he  could  be  infinitely  patient  and  tactful,  even  when 
half  delirious  with  fever;  and  at  every  step  of  the  road 
he  sought  the  guidance  and  grace  of  God.  No  text 
seems  to  have  been  more  frequently  in  his  mind  than 
the  words  of  the  Psalm,  ''Commit  thy  way  unto  the 
Lord,  trust  also  in  Him,  and  He  shall  bring  it  to  pass." 

V :     Discouraged  and  Lionised 

At  Quilimane  Livingstone  received  a  letter  from  the 
directors  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  informing 
him  that  they  were  restricted  in  aiding  ''plans  only  re- 
motely connected  with  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,"  and 
that  finances  would  not  permit  of  the  opening  of  a  new 
field  in  the  interior.  It  is  easy  to  understand  the 
scruples  of  the  Directors.  The  Society's  rules  were  not 
made  to  fit  a  Livingstone,  any  more  than  a  hen  run  is 
built  to  fit  an  eagle,  and  it  could  not  yet  be  foreseen  how 
powerful  an  influence  on  missionary  work  Living- 
stone's travels  were  to  exert.  But  naturally  he  felt 
deeply  grieved  and  wrote  to  the  secretary,  "I  had 
imagined  in  my  simplicity  that  both  my  preaching,  con- 
versation, and  travel  were  as  nearly  connected  with  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel  as  the  Boers  would  allow  them  to 
be.  A  plan  of  opening  up  a  path  from  either  the  east 
or  west  coast  for  the  teeming  population  of  the  interior 
was  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  the  Directors,  and 
received  their  formal  approval.  I  have  been  seven  times 
in  peril  of  my  life  from  savage  men  while  laboriously 
and  without  swerving  pursuing  that  plan,  and  never 
doubting  that  I  was  in  the  path  of  duty."    He  now  felt 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        73 

that  he  must  be  free  to  do  his  work  in  his  own  way, 
under  the  strong  conviction  that  he  was  so  led  of  God. 
His  relation  with  the  Society,  however,  continued  cor- 
dial, and  when  the  mission  to  the  Matabele  was  organ- 
ised, Livingstone,  now  a  British  consul,  made  himself 
responsible  for  the  salary  of  John  Moffat,  his  brother- 
in-law,  for  five  years,  besides  paying  his  outfit.  This 
fact  is  witness,  if  witness  be  needed,  that  in  Living- 
stone's life,  from  first  to  last,  the  missionary  interest 
was  supreme. 

Livingstone  reached  London  in  December,  1856,  and 
was  at  home  till  March,  1858.  As  was  to  be  expected 
he  was  lionised  in  all  circles,  religious  and  political, 
scientific  and  commercial.  Honours  were  showered 
upon  him  and  he  was  hailed  everywhere  as  the  national 
hero.  His  book,  Travels  and  Researches  in  South 
Africa,  was  a  great  success,  and  brought  him  in  sev- 
eral thousands  of  pounds,  most  of  which  he  devoted 
to  the  furtherance  of  his  work.  An  appeal  which  he 
made  at  Cambridge  led  to  the  founding  of  the  Uni- 
versities' Mission.  In  February,  1858,  he  was  ap- 
pointed British  consul  for  the  east  coast  of  Africa,  and 
commander  of  an  expedition  for  exploring  Central  Af- 
rica. This  glittering  hour  of  fame  left  him  quite  un- 
spoiled, the  same  rugged,  simple-hearted  missionary  he 
had  been  at  Kolobeng.  At  a  banquet  given  in  his 
honour  before  he  left  England  some  reference  was 
made  to  his  wife,  when  Livingstone,  addressing  a  most 
illustrious  audience,  said  with  great  plainness,  **My 
wife  will  accompany  me  in  this  expedition  and  will  be 
most  useful  to  me.  She  is  able  to  work.  She  is  willing 
to  endure,  and  she  well  knows  that  in  that  country  one 


74      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

must  put  one's  hand  to  everything.  She  knows  that  at 
the  missionary's  station  the  wife  must  be  the  maid  of 
all  work  within,  while  the  husband  must  be  the  jack  of 
all  trades  without,  and  glad  am  I  indeed  that  I  am  to 
be  accompanied  by  my  guardian  angel." 

VI :     Five  Years  on  the  Zambesi 

The  expedition  left  England  in  March,  1858,  and 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Zambesi  on  the  14th  of  May. 
Here  they  put  together  the  little  steamer,  the  Ma-Rob- 
bert,  with  which  they  were  to  navigate  the  river.  Liv- 
insfstone  was  now  to  encounter  difficultes  and  troubles 
to  which  he  had  previously  been  a  stranger,  and  in  ad- 
dition there  fell  upon  him  and  the  cause  he  had  at  heart 
a  succession  of  disasters.  His  position  as  British  con- 
sul did  not  smooth  his  way  with  the  Portuguese  author- 
ities who  began  to  suspect  political  aims,  and,  under  se- 
cret orders  from  Portugal,  did  their  utmost  to  obstruct 
his  work.  Some  friction  arose  among  the  members 
of  the  expedition,  not  all  of  whom  shared  his  ideals. 
The  naval  officer  in  charge  of  the  steamer  resigned, 
and  Livingstone  himself  was  compelled  to  undertake 
the  duties  of  navigation.  The  steamer  proved  to  be 
of  wretched  construction,  and  so  utterly  useless  that 
Livingtsone  sent  home  an  order  for  another  boat  to 
be  built  at  his  own  expense.  His  two  most  loyal  help- 
ers were  Dr.  Kirk  (afterwards  Sir  John  Kirk)  and  Mr. 
E.  D.  Young  of  the  Royal  Navy.  With  their  aid  he 
explored  the  course  of  the  Shire,  a  tributary  of  the 
Zambesi  which  flows  down  from  the  south  end  of  Lake 
Nyasa.     This  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  Shire  High- 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER         75 

lands,  the  healthiest  and  most  promising  region  yet 
found  in  Central  Africa.  Passing  through  these  hills 
Livingstone,  in  successive  journeys,  discovered  Lake 
Shirwa  and  Lake  Nyasa,  and  was  confirmed  in  his 
view  that  here  was  the  finest  field  for  missionary  en- 
terprise and  commercial  development.  That  this  view 
was  sound  has  been  fully  demonstrated  since  then,  by 
the  success  of  the  Livingstonia  Mission  and  the  pros- 
perity of  Nyasaland. 

Returning  to  the  Zambesi  Livingstone  took  the  Ma- 
kololo,  or  as  many  of  them  as  wished  to  return,  back 
to  their  home  at  Linyanti.  Here,  to  his  great  grief,  he 
learned  that  the  mission  party  sent  north  from  Kuru- 
man  to  establish  themselves  among  the  Makololo,  had 
been  almost  wiped  out  by  fever.  The  story  of  this 
catastrophe  is  fully  told  by  John  Mackenzie,  who  res- 
cued the  survivors.  Livingstone  could  not  but  feel 
that  some  responsibility  rested  on  him,  for  the  expe- 
dition had  gone  on  his  assurance  of  a  friendly  wel- 
come from  Sekeletu,  and  Sekeletu  had  shamefully 
robbed  them  and  was  even  suspected  of  having  poisoned 
them. 

In  the  beginning  of  1861  Livingstone  was  back  at 
the  coast  to  welcome  Bishop  Mackenzie  and  the  pio- 
neers of  the  Universities'  Mission  whom  he  helped  to 
settle  at  Magomero  in  the  Shire  Highlands.  But  dis- 
aster *was  again  in  store.  The  Bishop,  who  seems  to 
have  been  somewhat  forceful  in  his  methods,  went  to 
war  with  some  slave-raiding  tribes  and  blood  was  shed. 
Livingstone,  with  grave  fears  as  to  the  future  of  the 
mission,  went  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Zambesi  to 


76      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

meet  his  wife  who  had  come  out  to  join  him.  With 
her  came  Bishop  Mackenzie's  sister  and  Mrs.  Burrup, 
the  wife  of  one  of  his  colleagues.  A  young  Scotsman, 
afterwards  well  known  as  Dr.  Stewart  of  Lovedale, 
was  also  of  the  party,  having  been  sent  out  to  pros- 
pect for  a  suitable  sphere  for  a  Scottish  mission.  It 
was  a  happy  and  hopeful  meeting,  but  the  sky  was 
speedily  overcast.  They  had  not  gone  far  up  the  river 
when  news  came  that  Bishop  Mackenzie  and  Mr.  Bur- 
rup were  both  dead,  and,  soon  after,  the  whole  mission 
was  withdrawn  to  Zanzibar.  It  was  a  deathblow  to  one 
of  Livingstone's  fondest  hopes. 

There  followed  a  sorrow  that  touched  him  more 
deeply.  He  had  found  a  temporary  home  for  his  wife 
in  a  Portuguese  house  at  Shupanga,  a  pleasant  spot  on 
the  summit  of  a  rising  ground  that  slopes  up  gently 
from  the  river  on  its  southern  bank.  Here  the  long 
separated  husband  and  wife  spent  a  few  happy  weeks 
together.  Livingstone  wrote  afterwards,  ^'In  our  inter- 
course in  private  there  was  more  than  what  would  be 
thought  by  some  a  decorous  amount  of  merriment  and 
play.  I  said  to  her  a  few  days  before  her  fatal  illness, 
'We  old  bodies  ought  now  to  be  more  sober,  and  not 
play  so  much.'  'Oh,  no,'  she  said,  'you  must  always  be 
as  playful  as  you  have  always  been,  I  would  not  like 
you  to  be  as  grave  as  some  folks  I  have  seen.'  "  On 
the  2ist  of  April,  Mrs.  Livingstone  became  ill  and  she 
died  on  the  27th,  "at  the  close  of  a  long,  clear,  hot  day, 
the  last  Sabbath  of  April,  1862."  She  was  buried  a 
little  to  the  east  of  the  house  where  she  died  and  a 
simple  headstone,  with  an  inscription  on  the  one  side  in 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        77 

English,  on  the  other  side  in  Portuguese,  marks  the 
spot.  The  grave  has  become  the  centre  of  a  small 
burying  ground  which  is  surrounded  by  a  cactus  hedge 
and  contains  some  half  dozen  graves,  mostly  Portu- 
guese. 

Livingstone  was  heartbroken,  and  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life  he  felt  himself  willing  to  die.  In  his 
book,  The  Zambesi  and  its  Tributaries,  he  refers  to  his 
bereavement  with  great  restraint,  and  closes  with  a  sim- 
ple, ''Fiat,  Domine,  voluntas  tuar  In  his  private  jour- 
nal and  in  his  letters  to  his  friends  he  pours  out  his 
heart.  *'I  wept  over  her  who  well  deserved  many  tears. 
I  loved  her  when  I  married  her,  and  the  longer  I  lived 
with  her  I  loved  her  the  more.  Oh,  my  Mary,  my 
Mary!  how  often  have  we  longed  for  a  quiet  home, 
since  you  and  I  were  cast  adrift  at  Kolobeng.  Surely 
the  removal  by  a  kind  Father  who  knoweth  our  frame 
means  that  He  rewarded  you  by  taking  you  to  the  best 
home,  the  eternal  one  in  the  heavens."  In  spite  of  these 
crushing  sorrows  Livingstone  heroically  continued  his 
work.  Sailing  up  the  Shire  he  proceeded  to  take  his 
new  boat,  the  Lady  Nyasa,  to  pieces,  in  order  to  carry 
it  past  the  Murchison  cataracts  so  that  he  might  launch 
it  on  the  upper  river  and  steam  into  the  Lake.  While 
thus  engaged  he  received  a  government  despatch  from 
Earl  Russell,  intimating  the  recall  of  the  expedition. 
Even  "in  this  moment  of  disappointment  he  was  keen 
to  do  the  utmost  possible,  and  before  retiring  he  made 
a  hurried  journey  westward  to  the  Loangwa  valley. 
Then,  rejoining  the  boat,  he  led  the  expedition  back  to 
the  coast. 


78      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

VII :     The  Slave  Trade 

The  five  years'  work  on  the  Zambesi,  from  1858  to 
1863,  had  yielded  important  results  in  the  discovery 
and  opening  up  of  hitherto  unknown  regions.  But 
the  hideous  shadow  of  the  slave  trade  increasingly 
threw  a  gloom  over  all.  Livingstone  found  that  the 
slavers  turned  his  discoveries  to  their  own  account. 
They  followed  in  his  track  and  even  represented  them- 
selves as  ''Livingstone's  children."  The  infamous  traf- 
fic grew  to  vast  dimensions,  and  populous  districts  in 
the  interior  were  being  swept  bare.  Tens  of  thou- 
sands of  slaves  were  annually  marched  in  fetters  to  the 
coast,  many  of  whom  were  murdered  in  cold  blood  or 
left  to  perish  by  the  way.  The  soul  of  Livingstone 
was  moved  to  its  very  depths,  and  he  resolved  to  re- 
turn to  England  to  fight  this  fearful  traffic  to  the  death 
and  expose  the  heartless  policy  of  the  Portuguese  who, 
while  claiming  as  their  own  vast  countries  over  which 
they  never  had  control,  were  really  keeping  the  ring 
for  the  slave  raider. 

But  first  he  had  the  Lady  Nyasa  to  dispose  of.  Find- 
ing no  other  plan  feasible  he  boldly  sailed  her  across 
the  Indian  Ocean  to  Bombay,  with  only  fourteen  tons 
of  coal  in  her  bunker,  and  himself  acting  in  the  double 
capacity  of  captain  and  engineer.  It  was  perhaps  the 
most  foolhardy  thing  that  Livingstone  ever  did. 

From  July,  1864,  to  August,  1865,  Livingstone  was 
at  home  striving  to  rouse  England  to  an  interest  in  the 
woes  of  Africa.  The  Government  maintained  a  diplo- 
matic reserve  in  view  of  the  hostility  of  Portugal,  but 
the  nation  gained  a  new  knowledge  of  the  nefarious 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER         79 

traffic  which  was  bleeding  Central  Africa  to  death. 
Livingstone's  eyes  were  continually  turned  towards 
that  unhappy  region.  His  own  idea  of  his  future  work 
was  to  return  and  endeavour  to  open  up  the  country 
around  the  Lakes,  from  some  point  on  the  coast,  north 
of  Portuguese  territory.  The  Geographical  Society  pro- 
posed that  he  should  try  to  determine  the  position  of 
the  watershed  of  Central  Africa.  While  greatly  attracted 
by  this  problem,  Livingstone  replied  that  he  could  only 
feel  in  the  way  of  duty  by  working  as  a  missionary. 
In  the  end  he  went  out,  aided  by  grants  of  £500  each 
from  the  Government  and  the  Royal  Geographical  So- 
ciety, supplemented  by  £1000  from  a  private  friend. 
He  held  the  rank  of  honorary  consul  without  salary, 
and  with  a  warning  to  expect  no  pension !  For  the  rest 
he  must  trust  to  his  own  resources  and  his  own  great 
heart. 

VIII :     Seven  Years  of  Wandering 

He  left  England,  in  August,  1865,  never  to  return. 
At  Bombay  he  sold  the  Lady  Nyasa,  which  had  cost 
him  £6000,  for  £2300,  but  this  sum  was  soon  after  en- 
tirely lost  through  the  failure  of  an  Indian  bank.  His 
friend.  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  Governor  of  Bombay,  gave 
assistance  in  fitting  out  the  expedition,  and  commis- 
sioned Livingstone  to  present  a  steamer  to  the  Sultan 
of  Zanzibar.  The  Sultan,  having  received  the  gift, 
granted  a  letter  of  recommendation  to  his  subjects  in 
the  interior.  The  expedition,  when  at  length  it  was 
put  ashore  in  Africa,  consisted  of  a  motley  assemblage 
of  beasts  and  men.     Six  camels,  four  buffaloes,  two 


80      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

mules  and  four  donkeys  were  brought  from  India,  in 
the  hope  that  some,  if  not  all  of  them,  would  prove  im- 
mune from  the  bite  of  the  tsetse  fly.  From  India  also 
came  thirteen  sepoys  and  nine  Nassick  boys,  who 
proved  to  be  worthless.  Ten  Johanna  men  were  little 
better.  The  bright  stars  of  the  expedition  were  two 
Zambesians,  Susi  and  Chuma,  whose  devotion  has  made 
their  names  immortal. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  follow  Livingstone  through 
the  bewildering  maze  of  his  seven  last  years  of  wan- 
dering. The  interest  of  his  geographical  achievements, 
great  as  it  is,  is  eclipsed  by  the  tale  of  his  unparalleled 
sufferings  and  deathless  heroism.  From  the  first,  mis- 
fortune seemed  to  dog  his  steps.  The  sepoys  and  Nas- 
sick boys  had  to  be  dismissed  after  they  had,  by  their 
carelessness  and  cruelty,  killed  the  beasts  of  burden. 
At  Lake  Nyasa  no  means  of  crossing  was  to  be  found, 
and  this  necessitated  a  long  detour  round  its  southern 
end.  At  this  point  the  Johanna  men  lost  heart  and 
deserted.  On  reaching  the  coast  they  related  a  most 
circumstantial  story  that  Livingstone  had  been  mur- 
dered by  the  natives  and  that  they  had  buried  him. 
This  story  was  widely  accepted,  but  Mr.  E.  D.  Young, 
who  knew  by  experience  what  liars  they  were,  ex- 
pressed his  disbelief  and  proved  it  by  a  rapid  journey 
up  the  Shire,  where  he  gathered  sufficient  information 
to  show  that  Livingstone  was  alive  and  had  passed 
away  to  the  west. 

From  this  point  Livingstone's  trail  on  the  map  bends 
and  doubles  and  twists  about  in  a  seemingly  aimless 
fashion,  and  raises  the  question  of  what  was  his  ob- 
jective.    The  answer  is  supplied  by  the  configuration 


DAVm  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        81 

of  the  country  he  was  exploring.  West  of  Lake  Nyasa, 
beyond  the  Loangwa  valley,  the  watershed  of  Central 
Africa,  now  known  as  the  great  plateau  of  North- 
eastern Rhodesia,  runs  almost  due  north  and  south. 
On  its  western  side  the  Congo  takes  its  rise,  and  be- 
gins to  crawl  like  a  gigantic  snake  across  the  con- 
tinent. First,  under  the  name  of  the  Chambesi,  it 
flows  southward  to  Lake  Bangweolo,  creating  the 
impression  that  it  will  turn  out  to  be  a  tributary  of  the 
Zambesi.  Issuing  out  of  the  other  end  of  Lake  Bang- 
weolo as  the  Luapula,  it  flows  directly  north  to  Lake 
Mweru,  passing  through  which,  it  continues  its  north- 
erly course  as  the  Lualaba,  and  raises  a  strong  pre- 
sumption that  it  will  prove  to  be  the  Nile.  Gradually, 
however,  it  bends  round  to  the  northwest,  then  to  the 
west,  then  to  the  southwest,  and  finally  declares  itself 
at  the  Atlantic  as  the  Congo.  All  beautifully  plain 
now  upon  the  map,  but  in  Livingstone's  day  the  un- 
discovered secret  of  African  waterways,  to  be  painfully 
searched  for  through  a  maze  of  tropical  forests  and 
malarial  swamps.  Livingstone,  with  infinite  toil  and 
travail,  was  groping  about  for  the  solution  of  this 
problem,  hoping  in  his  heart  of  hearts  that  he  might 
be  laying  bare  the  historic  fountains  of  the  Nile. 

Early  in  the  journey  his  health  broke  down  and  he 
suffered  untold  agonies  from  constantly  recurring 
fever,  dysentery  and  bleeding  of  the  bowels.  His  feet, 
too,  gave  way  and  became  ulcerated.  In  fact,  he  had 
now  but  the  shattered  ruins  of  a  once  magnificent  con- 
stitution. Worst  of  all,  one  of  the  carriers  bolted  with 
his  medicine  chest.  "I  felt,"  he  writes,  '*as  if  I  had  now 
received   the   sentence  of   death."     Yet  he   doggedly 


82      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

plodded  on.  On  the  last  day  of  1866  he  writes  in  his 
diary,  "Will  try  to  do  better  in  1867,  and  be  better — 
more  gentle  and  loving,  and  may  the  Almighty,  to 
whom  I  commit  my  way,  bring  my  desires  to  pass  and 
prosper  me.  Let  all  the  sins  of  '66  be  blotted  out  for 
Jesus'  sake."  In  1867  he  reached  Lake  Tanganyika 
and,  striking  westward,  discovered  Lake  Mweru. 
Everywhere  he  found  the  ravages  of  the  slave  trade, 
yet  he  seems  to  have  got  on  fairly  well  with  some  of 
the  traders,  and  one  of  them  in  particular  showed  him 
no  small  kindness. 

On  New  Year's  Day,  1868,  he  writes,  "If  I  am  to  die 
this  year,  prepare  me  for  it."  He  had  now  determined 
to  turn  back  to  Ujiji,  on  the  east  side  of  Lake  Tan- 
ganyika, where  he  hoped  to  get  letters  from  home  and 
stores  which  he  had  ordered  to  be  sent  up  from  the 
coast.  But  first  he  went  south  and  discovered  Lake 
Bangweolo,  then  back  towards  Tanganyika,  prostrate 
with  fever  and  almost  at  death's  door.  It  is  certain  he 
would  never  have  reached  Ujiji  but  for  the  help  of  an 
Arab  trader,  Mohamad  Bogharib,  who  had  him  borne 
along  in  a  litter.  Crossing  the  Lake  he  reached  Ujiji 
only  to  find  that  the  stores  sent  from  the  coast  had  al- 
most all  disappeared,  while  of  all  his  letters  only  one 
was  left.  Having  written  to  the  coast  for  fresh  sup- 
plies, and  appealed  to  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar  for  pro- 
tection against  the  systematic  robbery  of  his  goods, 
Livingstone  resolved,  with  such  resources  as  he  had,  to 
cross  Lake  Tanganyika  and  strike  northwest  to  the 
Manyuema  country,  in  order  to  determine  the  course 
of  the  Lualaba. 

For  two  vears  he  was  lost  in  the  wilds  and  the  world 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        83 

came  to  believe  that  he  was  dead.  His  letters  never 
reached  the  coast.  On  one  occasion  forty  were  dis- 
patched but  all  were  lost.  Part  of  this  time  was  con- 
sumed by  a  long  illness,  when  he  was  unable  to  leave 
his  hut  for  months.  There  were  incessant  delays  owing 
to  the  disturbed  state  of  the  country,  due  to  slave  raid- 
ing. At  one  time  all  his  men  deserted  except  the  faith- 
ful Susi  and  Chuma  and  another.  In  his  loneliness  he 
found  constant  solace  in  his  Bible  which  he  read  through 
four  times. 

It  wore  on  to  1871.  "O  Father,"  he  writes,  ''help 
me  to  finish  this  work  to  Thy  glory."  In  July  of  this 
year  he  was  witness  of  si  fearful  massacre.  The  slav- 
ers suddenly  attacked  a  native  town  on  market  day, 
shot  down  hundreds  of  defenceless  people,  and  drove 
many  more  into  the  river.  The  story  of  this  dreadful 
day,  when  at  last  it  reached  England,  did  more  than 
anything  else  to  rouse  the  conscience  of  the  nation  to  a 
stern  resolve  that  these  atrocities  must  cease. 

IX :     Stanley 

Livingstone  returned  to  Ujiji  on  October  23,  1871, 
"a  mere  ruckle  of  bones,"  as  he  says.  Again  he  met 
with  bitter  disappointment.  The  stores  he  had  ordered 
from  the  coast  and  which  he  so  urgently  needed,  had 
all  been  made  away  with  in  the  belief  that  he  was 
dead.  He  found  himself  destitute  and  at  his  wits'  end. 
Five  days  later  help  reached  him,  as  suddenly  and  as 
providentially  as  if  it  had  dropped  from  the  sky.  On 
the  morning  of  the  28th  Susi  rushed  in  gasping  out 
that  he  had  seen  an  Englishman.    It  was  H.  M.  Stanley, 


84j      the  missionary  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

a  name  second  only  to  Livingstone's  in  the  history  of 
African  exploration.  He  had  been  sent  out  by  the  New 
York  Herald  to  find  Livingstone  dead  or  alive  and 
bring  him  home.  His  appearance  was  as  an  angel  of 
mercy,  for  he  came  abundantly  supplied  with  stores 
and  medicines.  Livingstone  revived  marvellously  in 
health  and  spirits.  "You  have  brought  me  new  life," 
he  kept  saying.  The  two  men  were  together  for  about 
six  months,  and  explored  the  north  end  of  Lake  Tan- 
ganyika. In  after  years  Stanley  warmly  acknowledged 
that  his  life  had  been  profoundly  influenced  by  the 
Christian  nobility  of  Livingstone's  character.  He 
writes  enthusiastically,  "You  may  take  any  point  in 
Dr.  Livingstone's  character,  and  I  would  challenge  any 
man  to  find  a  fault  in  it.  .  .  .  His  gentleness  never 
forsakes  him,  his  hopefulness  never  deserts  him.  No 
harassing  anxieties,  distraction  of  mind,  long  separa- 
tion from  home  and  kindred,  can  make  him  complain. 
He  thinks  'all  will  come  out  right  at  last,'  he  has  such 
faith  in  the  goodness  of  Providence.  .  .  .  His  is  the 
Spartan  heroism,  the  inflexibility  of  the  Roman,  the 
enduring  resolution  of  the  Anglo-Saxon — never  to 
relinquish  his  work,  though  his  heart  yearns  for  home, 
never  to  surrender  his  obligations  until  he  can  write 
FINIS  to  his  work." 

Stanley  had  found  Livingstone,  but  to  bring  him 
home  was  another  matter.  He  was  immovably  fixed  in 
his  resolve.  Accordingly  it  was  agreed  that  Stanley, 
on  returning  to  the  coast,  should  send  up  dependable 
carriers  with  whose  help  Livingstone  hoped  to  finish 
his  task.  Till  then  he  refused  to  go  home.  Sir  Harry 
Johnston  in  his  biography  of  Livingstone,  after  a  sus- 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        85 

tained  attempt  to  represent  him  as  a  kind  of  smoking 
room  hero  who  had  unfortunately  stumbled  into  a 
missionary  career,  makes  at  this  point  the  fatuous  sug- 
gestion that  "posterity  can  only  heave  a  sigh  of  vain 
regret  over  Livingstone's  obstinacy  in  rejecting  Stan- 
ley's advice."  Among  other  possible  advantages,  had 
Livingstone  returned  to  Europe  with  Stanley,  "he 
might  have  lived  many  years  longer,  and  died  a  baro- 
net!" Posterity  may  be  trusted  to  think  far  other 
thoughts.  Had  Livingstone  returned,  one  of  the  most 
inspiring  chapters  of  human  history  would  never  have 
been  written,  and  a  life  of  Christlike  devotion  to  down- 
trodden Africa  would  not  have  been  crowned  by  a  per- 
fect sacrifice. 

Livingstone  had  five  months  to  wait  for  the  arrival 
of  Stanley's  carriers.  It  was  during  this  time  that  he 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Herald,  in  which  oc- 
cur the  famous  words,  now  carved  on  his  tomb  in 
Westminster,  "All  I  can  add  in  my  loneliness  is,  may 
Heaven's  rich  blessing  come  down  on  every  one — 
American,  English  or  Turk — who  will  help  to  heal  the 
open  sore  of  the  world."  On  the  14th  of  August,  1872, 
the  carriers  arrived  and  proved  thoroughly  satisfactory. 
"I  have  a  party  of  good  men,  selected  by  H.  M.  Stan- 
ley. A  dutiful  son  could  not  have  done  more  than  he 
generously  did.  I  bless  him.  The  men,  fifty-six  in 
number,  have  behaved  as  well  as  the  Makololo.  I  can- 
not award  them  higher  praise."  Among  them  was  Ja- 
cob Wainwright,  an  educated  Nassick  boy,  whose  serv- 
ices at  Livingstone's  death  and  afterwards  rank  his 
name  with  those  of  Susi  and  Chuma. 


86      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

X :     The  Long  Last  Mile 

On  the  25th  of  August  Livingstone  set  out  on  his 
last  journey.  His  plan  was  to  circle  round  the  south 
end  of  Lake  Bangweolo,  in  order  to  make  sure  of  tak- 
ing in  all  the  sources  of  the  river,  and  then  to  follow 
its  course  northwards.  Having  settled  the  question  of 
whether  it  was  the  Nile  or  the  Congo,  he  would  then 
come  home.  Not  to  rest,  however,  but  to  expose  the 
enormities  of  the  slave  trade,  for  this,  more  than  the 
geographical  problem,  was  his  supreme  interest.  ''If 
the  good  Lord  permits  me  to  put  a  stop  to  the  enor- 
mous evils  of  the  inland  slave-trade,  I  shall  not  grudge 
my  hunger  and  toils.  The  Nile  sources  are  valuable 
to  me  only  as  a  means  of  enabling  me  to  open  my 
mouth  with  power  among  men."  It  was  not  given  him 
to  carry  out  his  plan.  The  main  end  he  had  in  view 
was  indeed  attained,  not  by  discovery  as  he  had  hoped, 
but  far  more  effectually  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  life.  He 
was  one  of  those  chosen  ones  to  whom  it  is  given,  like 
God's  own  Son,  to  help  the  world  most  of  all  by  their 
dying. 

Livingstone's  strength  was  no  longer  equal  to  the 
task  he  had  set  himself.  First  baked  by  the  intense 
heat,  and  then,  after  the  rainy  season  came,  drenched 
day  after  day,  his  health  broke  down  completely.  By 
the  end  of  the  year  he  had  reached  the  neighbourhood  of 
Lake  Bangweolo.  All  the  grassy  flats  for  miles  around 
the  Lake  were  waterlogged,  and  among  these  inter- 
minable sponges  Livingstone's  party  floundered  for 
weeks.  At  last,  too  weak  to  walk,  he  was  carried  on 
the  men's  shoulders,  and  then  in  a  rudely  constructed 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER         87 

machila.  He  notes,  "this  trip  has  made  my  hair  all 
grey."  It  was  the  desperate  struggle  of  a  dying  man, 
gifted  with  the  most  indomitable  spirit  that  ever 
housed  in  mortal  clay.  On  the  19th  of  March,  his  last 
birthday,  he  writes,  ''Thanks  to  the  Almighty  Preserver 
of  men  for  sparing  me  thus  far  on  the  journey  of  life. 
Can  I  hope  for  ultimate  success?  So  many  obstacles 
have  arisen.  Let  not  Satan  prevail  over  me,  O  my 
good  Lord  Jesus."  A  few  days  later  he  was  crouching 
for  shelter  under  an  upturned  canoe,  miserably  cold 
and  wet,  his  tent  torn  with  the  wind  and  soaked.  Then 
it  was  that  he  wrote  the  words,  "Nothing  earthly  will 
make  me  give  up  my  work  in  despair.  I  encourage 
myself  in  the  Lord  my  God  and  go  forward." 

Gradually  he  became  too  weak  even  to  be  carried. 
The  last  entry  in  his  journal  stands  under  the  date, 
April  2y,  "Knocked  up  quite  and  remain — recover — 
sent  to  buy  milch  goats.  We  are  on  the  banks  of  R. 
Molilamo."  Two  days  later  he  was  moved  a  short 
distance  to  Chitambo's  village  where  a  hut  was  hastily 
built  for  him.  Towards  evening  his  mind  wandered, 
but  about  midnight  Susi  brought  him  some  hot  water 
and  he  was  able  with  great  difficulty  to  mix  some  medi- 
cine for  himself.  Then  he  said  faintly,  "All  right,  you 
can  go  now\"  When  the  boy  who  slept  in  the  hut  with 
him  awoke  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  found 
his  master  dead  on  his  knees  at  the  bedside.  It  was  the 
1st  (or  perhaps  more  probably  the  4th)  of  May,  1873. 

XI :     Home 

His  faithful  men  resolved  that  his  body,  at  what- 
ever cost,  must  be  carried  home  to  his  own  people,  and 


88      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

they  prepared  for  this  extraordinary  task  with  the 
greatest  care  and  thoroughness.  An  exact  inventory 
was  made  by  Jacob  Wainwright  of  all  his  possessions. 
The  body  was  dried  and  rudely  embalmed.  The  heart 
was*  buried  under  a  tree  upon  which  his  name  was 
carved.  This  sacred  spot  is  now  marked  by  an  obelisk 
in  the  middle  of  a  square  clearing  in  the  forest,  and 
is  held  in  trust  by  the  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland, 
which  has  a  mission  station  at  Chitambo,  as  near  to 
the  grave  as  conditions  of  health  will  permit. 

Having  prepared  the  body  for  the  journey  the  men 
set  out  for  the  coast,  which  they  reached  after  nine 
months  of  toilsome  and  perilous  marching.  When  well 
on  the  way  they  met  an  expedition  coming  up  country 
to  the  relief  of  Livingstone.  These  Englishmen  ad- 
vised them  to  go  no  farther,  but  to  bury  the  body 
where  they  were.  They  also  rummaged  through  Liv- 
ingstone's boxes  and  appropriated  some  things  to  their 
own  use.  So  gross  were  their  perceptions,  so  blind 
were  they  to  the  moral  sublimity  of  what  these  sons 
of  Africa  were  doing! 

Livingstone's  men  held  on  their  way  and  on  Febru- 
ary 15,  1874,  reached  the  coast  opposite  Zanzibar, 
where  they  delivered  his  body  to  the  British  consul. 
It  was  brought  home  to  England,  and  after  being  iden- 
tified by  the  old  fracture  in  the  arm  it  was  finally  laid 
to  rest  in  the  nave  of  Westminster  Abbey,  on  Saturday, 
April  18,  1874. 

The  impression  made  by  the  death  of  Livingstone 
upon  the  mind  of  the  civilised  world  was  profound,  and 
it  would  be  impossible  to  overestimate  his  influence 
on  the  development  of  Africa.    He  had  travelled  thirty 


DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  EXPLORER        89 

thousand  miles  through  the  heart  of  the  Dark  Contin- 
ent, and  wherever  he  passed  he  left  a  trail  of  light.  He 
sounded  the  death  knell  of  the  slave  trade  and  opened 
the  country  for  legitimate  commerce.  His  death  marked 
a  new  era  in  Christian  missions.  But  his  greatest  gift 
to  the  world  was  just  to  have  been  himself.  Born 
in  a  commercial  age  he  brought  back  to  earth  the  spirit 
of  old  romance,  and  his  name  will  shine  for  ever  with 
the  radiance  of  saint,  of  knight-errant,  and  of  martyr. 


CHAPTER  IV  ' 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  MISSIONARY  STATESMAN 

I :     The  Elgin  Apprentice 

In  the  ancient  ruins  of  Elgin  Cathedral  there  is 
pointed  out  a  rude  stone  trough,  possibly  a  baptismal 
font,  where  it  is  said  a  poor  mother  was  wont  to  lay 
her  baby  when  she  went  out  to  work.  That  baby  be- 
came General  Anderson,  who  founded  and  endowed 
the  Anderson  Institute,  "for  the  support  of  old  age  and 
the  education  of  youth."  In  1845  a  little  lad  of  nine 
was  admitted  to  the  Institution,  having  walked  six- 
teen miles  from  his  native  parish  of  Knockando.  His 
name  was  John  Mackenzie,  and  he  was  destined  to 
become  famous  as  an  African  missionary  and  states- 
man. He  was  the  son  of  a  crofter  on  Speyside,  the 
youngest  of  six  children,  and  was  born  on  August  30, 
1835.  The  bare  soil  of  the  upland  croft  provided  but 
a  scanty  living  for  the  family,  so  his  parents  thankfully 
accepted  the  opportunity  of  placing  their  youngest  boy 
in  the  Anderson  Institution.  Thus  commenced  his  con- 
nection with  Elgin,  which  became  the  home  of  his  boy- 
hood and  youth. 

On  leaving  the  Institution  in  his  fourteenth  year 

Mackenzie  was  apprenticed  to  Mr.  Russell,  the  printer 

and  publisher  of  the  Elgin  C  our  ant.    Here  he  worked 

on  an  average  ten  hours  a  day  with  a  good  deal  of 

90 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN  91 

overtime.  His  leisure,  such  as  it  was,  was  entirely  at 
his  own  disposal,  for  he  lived  alone  in  lodgings  and 
was  his  own  master.  How  singularly  independent  his 
boyhood  was,  is  brought  out  by  an  entry  in  his  diary, 
made  in  his  twentieth  year.  "It  is  now  ten  years  since 
I  have  asked  parental  advice.  During  that  period,,  when 
not  under  the  eye  of  a  teacher  or  of  an  employer,  I 
have  been  entirely  my  own  adviser,  and  my  own  mas- 
ter. Instead  of  giving,  both  parents  ask  advice  from 
me."  The  summer  evenings  were  devoted  to  cricket; 
in  the  winter  the  Bishopmill  Literary  Association  stim- 
ulated interests  of  another  sort. 

When  about  eighteen  years  of  age  Mackenzie  came 
under  the  influence  of  Alexander  Williamson,  after- 
wards a  well  known  missionary  in  China,  who  in  the 
summer  of  1853  conducted  the  services  in  the  Inde- 
pendent Chapel  at  Elgin.  From  this  time  he  dated 
both  his  conversion  and  his  desire  to  be  a  missionary. 
That  desire  burned  very  intensely  within  him,  and 
he  prayed  earnestly  for  some  door  to  open  that  would 
give  him  release  from  his  long  apprenticeship.  His 
whole  religious  life  at  this  period,  as  revealed  in  his 
private  diary,  bears  the  marks  of  extreme  spiritual 
tension.  Thus  he  writes  in  1854,  ''Sept.  pth.  The  war 
is  going  on  incessantly,  only  God  is  gracious  and  up- 
holds me.  I  have  an  increasing  desire  to  work  for 
God,  and  I  am  only  happy  at  present  in  the  office  from 
the  prospect  of  soon  leaving  it."  ''Sept.  lyth,  Sunday. 
At  the  communion  table  today  I  felt  more  overcome 
than  ever  before.  What  a  glorious  feeling!  Dear 
Jesus !  He  was  not  there  hidden  as  He  often  is  to  my 
darkened  mind.     Heaven  seemed  very  near,  life  very 


92      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

short,  and  to  spend  my  life  as  a  missionary  of  the  Gos- 
pel appeared  a  glorious  work  indeed.  Oh,  I  felt  eager 
to  engage  in  it!  Surely  God,  when  he  thinks  proper, 
will  open  a  door  for  me."  ''Sept.  ipth.  Felt  some 
strange  doubts  sweep  into  my  mind  this  afternoon. 
.  .  .  They  strike  at  the  very  root.  .  .  .  God  help  this 
darkened,  blinded,  stumbling,  but  trusting  and  confid- 
ing soul !  For  Jesus'  sake !''  No  doubt  it  was  out  of 
these  struggles  and  prayers  that  there  emerged  the 
Mackenzie  of  later  years,  strong,  calm  and  patient  al- 
most beyond  belief. 

During  the  ensuing  winter  his  health  showed  some 
alarming  symptoms,  which  led  to  his  release  from  his 
apprenticeship  and  his  return  to  his  home  in  Knock- 
ando.  Believing  that  this  was  likely  to  be  his  final 
parting  from  Elgin,  he  delivered  a  farewell  address 
to  his  old  companions  in  the  town  from  the  pulpit  of 
the  Independent  Chapel.  The  intense  passion  of  the 
youthful  preacher,  unduly  excited  perhaps  by  the  oc- 
casion and  by  the  sight  of  the  crowded  audience  of 
young  men,  made  a  deep  and  lasting  impression. 

II :     The  Resolved  Man 

In  September,  1855,  Mackenzie  was  accepted  for 
training  by  the  London  Missionary  Society.  A  previ- 
ous application  had  been  declined  on  the  ground  of  his 
youth  and  inexperience,  but  now  the  way  was  open  for 
the  attaining  of  his  heart's  desire.  He  was  sent  to  Bed- 
ford to  study  for  two  years  under  the  Rev.  J.  Jukes, 
the  Congregational  minister  there.  Subsequently  he 
went  for  a  session  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  continued 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN  93 

his  studies  in  theology  and  also  in  medicine.  He  was 
a  hard  working  student  and  exceedingly  rigorous  in  the 
demands  he  made  upon  himself.  Thus  he  writes  in  his 
diary,  "Oh,  if  I  strained  every  nerve  for  Christ !  I  must 
do  this.  I  will  do  it  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord.  Have 
obtained  much  consolation  and  strength  and  encour- 
agement from  the  thought  that  the  Lord  will  help  the 
resolved  man.  ...  I  have  now  a  set  of  resolutions  for 
the  guidance  of  my  life  drawn  up,  which  I  read  on  my 
knees  three  times  a  day.  ...  I  have  resolved  to  live  to 
Christ  and  to  live  for  Christ.  I  must  conquer  every 
evil  habit,  thafs  settled.  Idleness,  irresolution,  care- 
lessness, timidity,  irregularity,  all  must  be  swept  away. 
In  the  strength  of  the  living  God,  the  Helper  of  the 
aspirant,  I  will  set  to  work.  .  .  .  We  have  not  enough 
of  devoted  personal  attachment  to  Him  whom  we  call 
our  Saviour.  Oh,  let  us  be  extreme  on  this  point,  let  us 
bum  with  love,  and  yearn  earnestly  to  testify  in  actions 
the  existence  of  this  love." 

Under  this  high  pressure  his  health  gave  way.  In  his 
morbid  conscientiousness  he  had  been  half  starving 
himself,  so  that  though  now  nearly  six  feet  in  height, 
he  weighed  only  eight  stone.  He  became  oppressed 
with  a  gloomy  foreboding  that  his  life  would  be  an  ut- 
ter failure.  Out  of  this  Slough  of  Despond  he  was 
delivered  by  the  wise  counsel  of  a  London  doctor,  who 
told  him  the  truth  about  his  condition.  At  once  Mack- 
enzie's strong  sense  asserted  itself,  and  henceforth  he 
led  a  saner  and  healthier,  though  none  the  less  ardent, 
Christian  life. 

On  the  19th  of  April,  1858,  Mackenzie  was  ordained 
in  the  Queen  Street  Hall,  Edinburgh,  for  service  in 


94      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

South  Africa.  Shortly  afterwards  he  was  married  to 
Helen  Douglas  of  Portobello,  the  sister  of  a  college 
friend,  whose  devoted  love  sustained  him  through  all 
the  long  years  of  labour  and  warfare  that  fell  to  his  lot. 
The  young  couple  sailed  on  June  5  and  reached  Cape 
Town  July  14.  A  description  of  Mackenzie's  personal 
appearance,  though  written  somewhat  later,  may  not 
inappropriately  be  given  here.  "A  tall,  square-built 
man,  about  five  feet  eleven  inches  in  height,  fair  in 
complexion,  genial  in  countenance,  with  great  strength 
of  character  stamped  on  his  brow,  and  an  unmistakable 
Highlander,  speaking  the  English  language  with  won- 
derful purity  and  intonation." 

HI :     Following  up  Livingstone 

His  arrival  in  Africa  occurred  at  a  moment  of  con- 
siderable interest  in  the  history  of  African  missions. 
Livingstone's  great  journey  had  roused  the  home 
country  and  he  was  now  going  out  as  British  consul  to 
take  up  his  work  of  exploration  on  the  Zambesi.  His 
challenge  to  the  Churches  had  met  with  a  warm  re- 
sponse, and  the  London  Missionary  Society  resolved  to 
plant  missions  among  the  Matabele  and  the  Makololo. 
Sekeletu,  the  Makololo  chief,  who  lived  with  his 
tribe  among  the  swamps  of  the  upper  Zambesi,  was 
understood  to  have  expressed  to  Livingstone  his 
willingness  to  move  to  a  healthier  region  farther  east. 
This  would  no  doubt  expose  him  to  attack  from  the 
Matabele  across  the  river,  but  it  was  hoped  that  the 
influence  of  the  two  missions  would  be  sufficient  to 
keep  the  peace  and  reconcile  these  warlike  tribes.     It 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN  95 

was  a  bold  and  well-conceived  scheme,  the  one  which 
promised,  if  successful,  to  lead  to  the  most  important 
results  in  the  Christian  development  of  Central  Africa. 
Three  young  missionaries  with  their  wives  sailed  in 
the  company  of  the  Mackenzies  to  Cape  Town.  Of 
these,  Messrs.  Sykes  and  Thomas  were  destined  for  the 
Matabele,  while  Mr.  Price  was  to  be  Mackenzie's  col- 
league to  the  Makololo.  Dr.  Moffat  was  to  superin- 
tend the  planting  of  the  Matabele  mission;  Mr.  Hel- 
more,  an  African  missionary  of  experience,  was  put 
in  charge  of  the  expedition  to  the  Makololo.  The 
mission  party  travelled  north  from  the  Cape,  and  after 
much  difficulty  through  theMeath  of  many  of  their  oxen 
they  at  length  reached  Dr.  Moffat's  station  of  Kuru- 
man.  Here  they  had  their  first  pleasing  impressions 
of  what  mission  work  could  do  for  the  natives.  When 
the  Sabbath  bell  rang  out  its  summons  groups  of  de- 
cently dressed  people  were  to  be  seen  wending  their 
way  to  church,  many  of  them  carrying  their  Sechuana 
Bibles  and  hymn  books.  Evidences  were  not  wanting 
of  industrial  progress,  in  the  better  cultivation  of  the 
land  and  the  use  of  improved  implements.  Indeed, 
there  were  Bechuana  farmers  who  had  reached  a 
standard  of  civilisation  at  least  equal  to  that  of  the 
Boers  across  the  border  in  the  Transvaal. 

IV :     The  Makololo  Disaster 

Preparations  were  at  once  begun  for  launching  the 
Makololo  mission.  In  view  of  the  difficulties  likely 
to  be  encountered  in  crossing  the  Kalahari  Desert  and 
the  swamps  of  the  Zambesi,  Mackenzie  proposed  that 


96      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

the  missionaries  should  leave  their  wives  behind  at 
Kuruman  till  they  had  secured  the  removal  of  Sekeletu's 
tribe  to  a  healthier  region  and  established  the  mission 
station.  This  plan  was  decisively  rejected  by  Mr.  Hel- 
more  whose  wife  was  determined  to  accompany  her 
husband  with  her  four  children.  In  view  of  the  trag- 
edy that  followed  and  the  criticism  aroused,  it  is  only 
fair  to  remember  that  Livingstone  had  taken  his  wife 
and  children  with  him  on  his  first  visit  to  the  Makololo. 
It  was  natural,  therefore,  as  Mackenzie  says,  that  other 
missionaries'  wives  should  'Venture  to  hope  that  they 
could  go  where  Mrs.  Livingstone  had  been,  and  reside 
where  their  husbands  resided." 

Finally  it  was  arranged  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Price  and 
their  baby  should  accompany  the  Helmores,  and  that 
the  Mackenzies  should  follow  the  next  year  with  sup- 
plies. The  pioneer  party  set  out  and,  after  a  terrible 
struggle,  crossed  the  Kalahari  Desert.  The  sufferings 
of  the  children  must  have  been  dreadful.  Livingstone 
has  described  his  feelings  under  the  same  conditions 
when  he  saw  his  children  like  to  die  of  thirst  before 
his  eyes.  Mrs.  Helmore's  letters  tell  a  pitiful  story. 
"Tuesday  the  6th  was  one  of  the  most  trying  days  I 
ever  passed.  We  were  all  faint  with  thirst,  and  of 
course  eating  was  out  of  the  question.  The  poor  chil- 
dren continually  asked  for  water.  I  put  them  off  as 
long  as  I  could,  and  when  they  could  be  denied  no 
longer,  doled  the  precious  fluid  out  a  spoonful  at  a  time. 
Poor  Selina  and  Henry  cried  bitterly.  Willie  bore  up 
manfully  but  his  sunken  eyes  showed  how  much  he 
suffered.  As  for  dear  Lizzie  she  did  not  utter  a  word 
of  complaint,  nor  even  asked  for  water,  but  lay  all 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN         97 

the  day  on  the  ground  perfectly  quiet,  her  lips  quite 
parched  and  blackened." 

Next  season,  in  May,  i860,  the  Mackenzies  started 
on  their  long  trek  to  the  north.  They  passed  the 
ruins  of  Kolobeng,  Livingstone's  station  which  had 
been  destroyed  by  the  Boers.  As  Theal,  the  South 
African  historian  has  suggested  that  Livingstone's 
house  was  looted  by  the  natives,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  Mackenzie  afterwards  became  acquainted  with 
Boers  who  had  articles  of  Livingstone's  furniture  in 
their  houses,  and  who  did  not  deny  the  raid.  Still  far- 
ther north  they  came  to  Shoshong,  the  town  of  the 
Bamangwato,  which  in  after  years  became  their  home. 
Here  they  met  Dr.  Moffat  returning  from  the  Matabele 
where  the  new  mission  had  been  successfully  estab- 
lished. No  news  had  as  yet  come  through  from  Hel- 
more  and  his  party. 

Mackenzie  now  pushed  out  into  "the  great  thirst 
land,"  where  he  was  entirely  dependent  on  the  guid- 
ance of  the  Bushmen.  Here  a  rumour  reached  him  of 
disaster  having  befallen  his  friends,  but  he  disregarded 
it  and  continued  to  advance.  The  Bushmen,  however, 
by  a  kindly  deception  led  him  westward  till  they  brought 
him  to  the  Zouga  river  near  Lake  Ngami.  Here  he 
met  a  party  of  natives  who  said  that  a  white  man  and 
two  children  were  with  their  chief,  higher  up  the  river. 
Mackenzie  had  some  reason  to  suspect  the  truth  of  this 
story,  for  the  chief  in  question  was  an  enemy  of  the 
Makololo,  and  wished  to  prevent  missionaries  reach- 
ing them.  He  therefore  resolved  still  to  go  on,  but 
he  had  not  proceeded  far  when  he  met  Mr.  Price,  who, 
ill  and  half  distracted  with  his  sufferings,  had  been 


98      THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

brought  down  the  river.  In  broken  accents  his  tragic 
tale  was  told.  His  wife  and  child  were  dead,  also  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Helmore  and  two  of  their  children.  Sekeletu 
had  treated  them  with  great  callousness,  and  was  even 
suspected  of  having  poisoned  them.  When  they  sick- 
ened and  died  in  rapid  succession  he  claimed  all  their 
property,  and  when  Mr.  Price  left  with  the  two  sur- 
viving children  the  guides  led  them  through  a  belt  of 
tsetse  fly,  so  that  all  the  oxen  died.  Thus  it  was  that 
Mackenzie  found  them  stranded  and  destitute  on  the 
Zouga. 

The  injustice  and  cruelty  of  Sekeletu,  so  different 
from  his  magnificent  help  of  Livingstone,  may  perhaps 
be  best  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  he  was  in  reality 
a  weakling.  On  this  occasion  he  fell  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  renegade  member  of  the  missionary  party, 
who  counselled  him  to  make  away  with  the  white  men 
and  seize  their  goods.  Afterwards  he  expressed  con- 
trition when  he  found  his  conduct  reprobated  through 
all  the  tribes,  as  an  unparalleled  breach  of  hospitality 
to  men  whom  he  had  himself  invited  to  his  country. 

Not  long  after  this  the  story  of  the  Makololo  came 
to  a  dark  and  bloody  end.  Their  vassals,  the  Barotsi, 
planned  a  sudden  rising  and  put  them  to  death  in  a 
single  night,  an  African  St.  Bartholomew.  A  fugitive 
party  escaped  and  reached  the  Zouga,  only  to  be  mas- 
sacred by  the  tribe  that  had  sheltered  Mr.  Price.  Thus 
perished  the  Makololo.  *T  do  not  venture,"  says  Mac- 
kenzie, *'to  affirm  the  presence  of  divine  retribution  in 
this  tragic  end  of  the  Makololo.  But  in  Bechuana- 
land,  and  especially  among  the  heathen  in  the  north- 
ern part,  the  feeling  is  very  general  that  the  destruc- 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN  99 

tion  of  the  Makololo,  so  soon  after  their  inhospitable 
and  perfidious  conduct  towards  the  missionaries,  is  to 
be  traced  to  the  vengeance  of  God.  Nor  is  this  mere 
theory  in  the  native  mind,  for  in  some  of  our  difficul- 
ties at  Shoshong,  when  sinister  counsels  had  almost  pre- 
vailed, some  Gamaliel  was  sure  to  stand  up  and  ad- 
vise, 'Let  the  missionary  alone.  The  Makololo  injured 
the  missionaries,  and  where  are  the  Makololo  ?'  '* 

The  disaster  to  the  mission  party  was  a  deep  per- 
sonal grief  to  the  Mackenzies  and  a  heavy  blow  to 
their  hopes.  It  was  a  sad  company  that  struggled 
back  through  the  desert.^  The  children  behaved  like 
heroes.  Mackenzie  tells  how  he  was  touched  by  a  con- 
versation he  overheard  between  them.  Little  Willie 
remarked  to  his  sister  that  he  was  very  thirsty.  Was 
the  water  all  gone?  His  sister,  who  was  older  than 
he,  answered  that  "he  must  be  a  good  boy,  and  not  ask 
for  water.  Did  he  not  remember  how  they  had  been 
thirsty  long  ago,  when  mamma  was  still  living?  They 
must  not  ask  for  water."  The  water  happened  to  be 
plentiful  and  Mackenzie  had  the  pleasure  of  giving  the 
little  fellow  a  hearty  drink.  Kuruman  was  reached  in 
February,  1861,  after  an  absence  of  nine  months,  and 
the  orphan  children  were  sent  home  to  England. 

V :    In  Khama's  Country 

For  some  time  the  Directors  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  were  in  doubt  as  to  policy,  and  in  the 
meantime  Mackenzie  was  sent  to  begin  work  in  Sho- 
shong. Here  he  would  be  in  position  to  keep  in  touch 
with  the  Zambesi,  and   if  a   favourable  opportunity 


100    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

arose,  to  make  a  fresh  attempt  to  establish  the  Makololo 
mission.  The  massacre  of  that  tribe,  however,  put  an 
end  to  these  hopes,  and  Mackenzie  settled  down  to  per- 
manent work  in  Shoshong.  The  town  numbered  about 
30,000  inhabitants.  It  lay  under  a  ridge  of  rocky  hills 
which  provided  a  refuge  in  time  of  war.  Sekhome,  the 
chief,  was  an  unscrupulous  schemer,  but  his  son  Khama 
was  a  young  man  of  great  promise,  who  afterwards  be- 
came known  as  a  high-principled  Christian  ruler,  one 
of  the  noblest  that  Africa  has  produced.  The  influence 
which  Mackenzie  had  in  forming  his  character  and 
shaping  his  policy  was  one  of  his  finest  services  to 
Bechuanaland. 

In  1862  the  dreaded  Matabele  made  an  attack  on 
Shoshong.  The  women  and  children  took  refuge  in 
the  mountain,  and  with  them  went  Mrs.  Mackenzie  and 
her  children,  for  it  was  known  that  the  Matabele,  when 
on  the  warpath,  spared  neither  sex  nor  age.  Sekhome, 
as  high  priest  of  the  tribe,  began  his  incantations,  but 
Khama  cut  him  short,  and  leading  out  some  of  the 
younger  regiments  repelled  the  enemy.  During  the 
crisis  Mackenzie  had  preached  on  the  Christian  atti- 
tude to  war  and  the  duty  of  defending  one's  home. 
This,  with  the  courage  of  Khama,  gave  the  heathen 
chiefs  and  people  a  new  view  of  things.  "We  were 
told,"  they  said,  ''that  when  a  man  became  a  Christian 
he  was  bound  not  to  fight  in  any  cause.  We  therefore 
expected  that  all  the  'men  of  the  word  of  God'  would 
have  ascended  the  mountain  with  the  women  and  chil- 
dren. But  to-day  those  who  pray  to  God  are  our 
leaders." 

Next  year  Mackenzie  was  sent  to  reinforce  the  Ma- 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN       101 

tabele  mission  in  the  absence  of  some  of  his  colleagues. 
At  first  Mosilikatse  refused  him  permission  to  enter 
Matabeleland  because  he  was  Sekhome's  missionary 
but  this  objection  was  overcome,  and  in  the  end  the 
chief  offered  him  a  site  for  a  mission  station  if  he 
would  reside  permanently  in  the  country.  During  this 
visit  Mackenzie  gained  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
savage  military  system  of  the  Matabele,  a  system  which 
broke  up  home  life  and  made  progress  impossible. 
Hordes  of  young  warriors,  herded  together  in  barracks, 
and  living  only  for  bloodshed  and  plunder,  were  a 
source  of  disquiet  and  terror  to  the  tribes  far  and  near. 
Missionaries  were  admitted  to  the  country  but  the  peo- 
ple were  forbiden  to  learn.  More  and  more  it  was  be- 
coming apparent  that  this  military  empire  must  change 
or  one  day  be  shattered. 

Returning  to  Shoshong  in  1864  Mackenzie  settled 
down  feeling  that  here  was  to  be  the  scene  of  his 
life  work,  and  such  it  proved  to  be  for  the  next 
twelve  years.  The  Gospel  had  first  been  preached  in 
Shoshong  by  Livingstone  when  travelling  to  Lake 
Ngami.  A  native  teacher  had  continued  the  work,  and 
for  some  time  a  Lutheran  missionary  had  laboured  in 
the  town.  When  Mackenzie  arrived  there  was  the 
nucleus  of  a  Christian  church,  enrolled,  as  he  thought, 
prematurely.  It  was  his  -task  to  instruct  those  who 
were  already  favourable  to  the  Gospel  and  to  evangelise 
the  mass  of  the  people  who  were  still  heathen.  In 
order  to  reach  them  he  preached  at  various  public 
places  through  the  town.  When  the  little  band  of  ill- 
taught  converts  painfully  attempted  to  sing  a  hymn  the 
heathens  were  vastly  amused.    "What  are  they  doing?" 


102    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

was  asked.  "They  are  raising  the  death  cry/'  sug- 
gested some  wag,  and  the  phrase  stuck.  In  conducting 
school  Mackenzie  found  much  encouragement  in  the 
progress  of  his  pupils.  "I  came  to  the  conclusion,"  he 
says,  ''that  the  mental  ability  of  those  I  was  teaching 
was  probably  as  great  as  in  a  village  school  in  a  country 
district  in  England."  The  missionary's  home  life  was 
something  new  and  wonderful  to  the  native  mind. 
"After  being  shown,  at  their  own  request,  some  of  the 
rooms  of  our  house,  a  party  of  the  wives  of  petty  chiefs 
at  length  broke  out,  addressing  Mrs.  Mackenzie,  'Happy 
wife  and  happy  mother!  You  have  a  kingdom  here 
of  your  own' !" 

Sekhome,  the  chief,  showed  for  a  time  some  interest 
in  the  new  doctrine.  "I  found,"  writes  Mackenzie, 
"that  this  man  with  the  sinister  face,  who  was  the 
greatest  sorcerer  in  Bechuanaland,  who  was  hated  by 
many  and  mistrusted  by  all  his  neighbours,  had  a  keen 
appreciation  of  the  character  and  the  object  of  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  'It  is  all  very  good  for  you 
white  men  to  follow  the  Word  of  God,'  he  would  say. 
'God  made  you  with  straight  hearts  like  this,' — hold- 
ing out  his  finger  straight — 'but  it  is  a  different  thing 
for  us  black  people.  God  made  us  with  a  crooked 
heart  like  this,' — holding  out  his  bent  finger.  When 
assured  that  both  black  and  white  needed  and  could 
receive  a  new  and  right  heart,  'Not  black  people,'  he 
said,  'and  yet,  after  all,  Khama's  heart  is  perhaps 
right.  Yes,  Khama's  heart  is  right'  "  When  pressed 
to  follow  his  son's  example  he  seemed  to  regard  it  as 
impossible.     "When  I  think  of  entering  the  Word  of 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN        103 

God,"  he  said,  *'it  is  like  going  out  into  the  plain  and 
meeting  all  the  forces  of  the  Matabele  single-handed." 

When  Sekhome  rejected  the  Gospel  it  was  but  a 
short  step  for  him  to  become  a  persecutor.  He  ordered 
his  son  to  marry  another  wife  and  conform  to  heathen 
customs.  When  Khama  refused  he  ordered  him  to  be 
put  to  death,  but  found  that  he  was  too  popular  to 
be  thus  dealt  with.  There  followed  a  period  of  plot- 
ting and  of  civil  war,  during  which  Khama  behaved 
with  extraordinary  restraint  and  Christian  consistency. 
Several  times  his  father  was  completely  in  his  power, 
but,  like  David  with  King.  Saul,  he  refused  to  avenge 
himself.  In  the  end  Sekhome  found  himself  a  fugi- 
tive from  his  tribe,  and  his  brother  Macheng,  who  had 
long  been  a  prisoner  among  the  Matabele,  was  restored 
to  the  chieftainship. 

These  events  greatly  disturbed  the  work  of  the  mis- 
sion, but  Mackenzie  held  fearlessly  on  his  way.  It 
is  typical  of  his  straightforward  courage  and  of  the 
influence  he  had  won,  that  when  Khama  and  his  fol- 
lowers were  driven  to  the  mountain,  he  went  to  Sek- 
home and  obtained  permission  to  visit  them  and  conduct 
services  every  Sunday.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
Sekhome  himself  had  to  flee,  after  the  failure  of  a 
plot  to  assassinate  his  brother  and  son,  it  was  in  Mac- 
kenzie's house  that  he  sought  refuge  ere  he  escaped 
unden  cover  of  darkness.  Macheng,  the  new  chief, 
though  himself  a  heathen,  declared,  ''Since  I  arrived 
at  Shoshong  I  have  seen  and  heard  for  myself.  The 
people  of  the  Word  of  God  alone  speak  the  truth." 

In  1867  gold  was  discovered  on  the  Tati  River,  in 
the  district  lying  between  Shoshong  and  the  Matabele 


104    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

country,  and  immediately  greedy  eyes  were  turned 
thither.  The  Boers  tried  to  stir  up  a  native  war,  and 
officially  expressed  the  pious  hope  of  seeing  ''the  vaga- 
bonds at  Shoshong  set  on  fire."  Mackenzie  was  thus 
brought  face  to  face  with  a  problem  he  had  long 
brooded  upon,  and  which  was  to  become  paramount 
in  his  life, — the  problem  of  the  development  of  South 
Africa  and  the  safeguarding  of  the  native  races.  On 
this  occasion  the  chief  Machc.ig,  acting  on  Mackenzie's 
advice,  petitioned  the  British  Government  to  take  him 
and  his  people  under  their  protection  before  the  rush 
of  gold  diggers  and  land  grabbers  should  begin. 

In  the  same  year  a  church  was  built  at  Shoshong, 
and  Mackenzie  has  given  a  vivid  and  amusing  picture 
of  the  scene  on  the  opening  day.  "Early  on  Tuesday 
the  people  began  to  assemble.  Each  division  of  the 
town  came  headed  by  its  chief.  Heathen  men  with 
hoary  heads,  toothless  and  tottering  with  old  age,  came 
leaning  on  their  staffs.  Full  grown  men — the  haughty, 
the  cunning,  the  fierce — came,  with  those  younger  in 
years,  of  brighter  eye  and  more  hopeful  mien.  We 
had  the  usual  members  of  the  congregation,  some  of 
whom  were  neatly  dressed.  But  sticklers  for  the  pro- 
prieties would  have  been  shocked  to  see  a  man  moving 
in  the  crowd  who  considered  himself  well  dressed 
though  wearing  a  shirt  only,  another  with  trousers 
only,  a  third  with  a  black  'swallow-tail,'  closely  but- 
toned to  the  chin — the  only  piece  of  European  clothing 
which  the  man  wore — another  with  a  soldier's  red  coat, 
overshadowed  by  an  immense  wide-awake  hat.  .  .  . 
The  church  doors  were  thrown  open  and  many  strange 
remarks   were  made  with  reference  to   the  building. 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN       105 

One  man  said,  'What  a  splendid  place  to  drink  beer 
in !'  another,  'What  a  capital  pen  for  sheep  and  goats !' 
and  a  third  declared  that  with  a  few  people  inside  they 
could  defy  the  Matabele  nation."  For  the  feast  an 
ox  was  killed  and  prepared,  with  a  plentiful  supply  of 
sour  milk  and  tea.  Near  the  end  of  the  feast  it  was 
found  that  a  certain  head  man  had  been  overlooked. 
The  meat  was  all  gone,  and  the  milk,  but  the  chief 
was  equal  to  the  occasion.  Handing  the  man  a  large 
kettle  of  tea  he  said  tactfully,  "Drink,  for  there  is  no 
longer  aught  to  eat.  The  tea  was  prepared  at  the 
same  fire  as  the  meat,  it  is  therefore  quite  the  same 
thing.  Drink,  for  tea  is  your  part  of  the  feast."  The 
man  quietly  sat  down  with  his  kettle  of  tea  and  drank 
it  all. 

The  year  1870  was  spent  at  home  on  furlough,  when, 
besides  doing  the  usual  deputation  work,  Mackenzie 
wrote  his  book,  Ten  Years  North  of  the  Orange  River, 
in  which  he  gives  a  remarkably  clear  and  interesting 
account  of  tribal  life  and  mission  work  in  South 
Africa.  Returning  to  Shoshong  in  1871  he  continued 
his  work  there  for  five  years.  The  church  prospered 
and  Khama  continued  to  grow  in  wisdom  and  Chris- 
tian character.  On  becoming  chief  he  substituted  a 
Christian  service  for  the  heathen  ceremonies  that  were 
customary  in  connection  with  the  sowing  of  the  seed. 
He  al^so  made  a  law  that  white  traders  were  not  to 
bring  strong  drink  into  his  country.  The  number  of 
traders  and  hunters  who  came  to  Shoshong  was  increas- 
ing year  by  year,  and  it  was  Mackenzie's  habit  to  hold 
a  service  for  them  in  his  house  every  Sunday  after- 
noon.     Captain   Parker   Gilmore,   in   his   book.    The 


106    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

Great  Thirst  Luxnd,  describes  one  such  service.  "Sun- 
day came  round,  and  I  could  have  known  the  day  from 
all  others  by  the  air  of  rest  that  lay  over  Shoshong.  .  .  . 
In  the  little  parlour,  where  worship  was  held,  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Almighty  might  almost  be  felt.  In  my  early 
life  I  had  regarded  religion  lightly,  but  when  I  looked 
upon  half  a  dozen  stalwart  men  accustomed  to  every- 
day hardship  and  danger,  our  worthy  pastor's  children 
and  a  few  servants,  giving  their  whole  soul  to  what 
they  were  engaged  in,  I  more  forcibly  felt  than  ever 
I  did  before  that  there  was  a  great  God  above  us.  One 
who  invited  our  adoration  and  love.  .  .  .  That  was 
the  most  solemn  Sunday  I  ever  passed/* 

VI :  When  Black  Meets  White 

In  1876  Mackenzie  was  moved  to  Kuruman  to  take 
charge  of  the  Moffat  Institution  which  was  being  built 
there.  This  Institution,  for  the  training  of  native 
pastors  and  teachers,  was  a  memorial  to  Dr.  Moffat, 
and,  owing  to  the  great  liberality  of  subscribers,  the 
Directors  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  proceeded 
to  plan  the  work  on  a  larger  scale  than  was  considered 
prudent  by  the  missionaries  on  the  spot.  Mackenzie, 
therefore,  besides  his  work  of  teaching  and  preaching, 
was  saddled  with  the  task  of  erecting  buildings  worth 
£10,000.  This  he  did  in  such  a  manner  as  to  call  forth 
the  warmest  praise  of  the  Government  inspector  of 
works. 

From  this  point  Mackenzie  began  to  find  himself 
drawn  irresistibly  into  the  wide  and  turbid  stream  of 
South  African  and  Imperial  politics.     This  arose  out 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN        107 

of  work  which  came  to  him  in  the  way  of  duty,  work 
to  be  done  for  the  defence  of  those  African  tribes  to 
whom  he  had  consecrated  his  Hfe.  Many  of  the  natives 
had  made  considerable  progress  in  agriculture,  but  now 
cases  occurred  in  which  white  men  stepped  in  and 
seized  their  farms.  Even  when  appeal  was  made  to 
the  nearest  court  in  the  Colony,  the  intruders  sat  tight 
and  defied  the  law.  These  occurrences  gave  rise  to  a 
miserable  state  of  turmoil  and  unrest,  which  at  last 
broke  out  in  open  rebellion.  The  white  settlers  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Kuruman  took  refuge  in  the  Insti- 
tution. Mackenzie  refused  to  ask  Government  protec- 
tion for  the  mission,  as  he  did  not  consider  it  to  be  the 
duty  of  the  Government  to  safeguard  missionaries 
working  among  heathen  tribes,  but  he  left  others  free 
to  act  as  they  judged  best.  How  little  he  feared  the 
rebels  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  he  walked 
alone  to  their  camp  to  secure  the  safety  of  some  men 
who  were  coming  from  Kimberley.  He  long  after- 
wards remembered  vividly  that  on  this  adventure  he 
saw,  what  he  had  recognised  on  one  or  two  occasions 
at  Shoshong,  the  passionate  lust  for  blood  looking  at 
him  greedily  from  the  eyes  of  native  men.  It  was 
indeed  a  bolder  venture  than  the  much  vaunted  deed  of 
Cecil  Rhodes  who  visited  the  Matabele  camp  only  after 
they  were  broken  and  cowed  and  desirous  of  peace. 
Not  without  reason  did  Mackenzie  enjoy  among  the 
natives  the  surname  of  Tau,  the  lion. 

During  the  quelling  of  the  rebellion  he  had  much 
correspondence  with  the  authorities,  in  which  he  urged 
upon  them  the  moral  obligation  resting  on  Britain 
to  maintain  law  and  order  in  Bechuanaland,  and  to 


108    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

secure  to  the  progressive  native  farmers  the  peaceful 
possession  of  their  farms.  This  he  knew  to  be  the 
unanimous  desire  of  the  chiefs  and  of  the  tribesmen. 
Britain,  however,  withdrew  and,  while  claiming  nomi- 
nal sovereignty,  failed  to  provide  real  government.  The 
deplorable  result  was  that  bands  of  Boer  raiders  crossed 
the  border  and  seized  two  districts,  which  they  named 
Stellaland  and  Goshen. 

VII:  The  Battle  for  Bechuanaland 

In  1882  Mackenzie  left  for  his  second  furlough, 
resolved  to  fight  with  his  whole  strength  the  battle 
for  Bechuanaland.  The  forces  arrayed  against  him 
were  extremely  formidable, — the  powerful  influence 
of  land-grabbers  who  cared  nothing  for  native  rights 
and  who  found  their  profit  in  fishing  in  troubled  waters, 
the  territorial  ambition  of  the  Boers  who  were  deter- 
mined to  annex  Bechuanaland  and  close  the  road  to 
the  north,  above  all  the  ignorance  and  indifference  of 
Britain.  Many  at  home  were  frankly  callous  as  to 
the  fate  of  the  natives,  believing  that  they  were  doomed 
to  extinction  like  the  American  Indians.  A  prominent 
member  of  the  Government  said  they  would  "go  as 
the  Choctaws  had  done."  ''It  went  to  my  heart  like  a 
knell,"  was  Mackenzie's  comment.  Others  were  con- 
scientiously opposed  to  any  advance  which  would 
increase  the  already  vast  responsibilities  of  the  Empire. 
The  nation  generally  was  in  total  ignorance  of  the  real 
situation.  Mackenzie  had  to  convince  the  people  of 
England  that  the  question  was  not  whether  the  native 
tribes  should  be  left  alone, — already  the  tide  of  immi- 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN        109 

gration  was  pouring  over  them  and  could  not  be  stayed, 
— but  whether  a  firm  Government  was  to  be  interposed 
between  them  and  the  rapacity  of  unjust  and  cruel  men. 
**The  real  question  was,"  he  wrote,  ''were  they  to  go 
north  with  the  stain  of  human  blood  on  their  hands,  or 
were  they  to  go  north  as  Christians,  clean-handed?" 
He  commenced  a  vigorous  campaign,  and  by  speeches, 
articles,  letters  and  personal  interviews  he  gradually 
impressed  his  ideas  upon  the  public  mind. 

In  1883  a  deputation  from  the  Transvaal  headed 
by  Kruger,  came  to  London  to  press  for  various  con- 
cessions, including  the  annexation  of  all  Bechuanaland. 
The  paramount  chief  of  the  Bechuanas  set  out  for 
England  to  defend  his  country,  but  finding  himself 
unable  to  get  beyond  Cape  Town,  he  appointed  Mac- 
kenzie to  represent  him.  ''I  belong  to  the  Queen,"  he 
wrote.  *Tlead  for  me  !  Help  me !  If  the  Government 
does  not  help  me  I  am  destroyed."  Mackenzie  needed 
no  spur.  With  great  skill  and  determination  he  fought 
the  pretensions  of  the  Boers,  and  defeated  their  projec- 
tion of  annexation.  In  the  end  Britain  assumed  the 
protectorate  of  Bechuanaland,  and  Mackenzie  was  ap- 
pointed the  first  Deputy-Commissioner.  This  office 
he  undertook  with  the  cordial  approval  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society. 

It  would  be  impossible  within  our  limits  to  follow 
Mackenzie  through  all  the  tangled  maze  of  political 
intrigue  into  which  he  was  now  plunged.  Arriving 
at  the  Cape  in  1884  he  travelled  north  to  Bechuana- 
land without  any  military  force,  and  succeeded  in 
conciliating  all  but  an  extreme  minority  of  the  Stella- 
landers.    But  his  policy  of  justice  to  the  natives  roused 


110    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

the  fierce  hostility  of  all  the  land-grabbing  and  gold- 
mining  interests,  to  whom  the  native  was  but  a  pawn 
in  the  white  man's  game.  The  whole  Boer  influence 
was  against  him.  He  now  also  crossed  the  path  of  the 
great  but  unscrupulous  Cecil  Rhodes,  whose  dreams 
were  more  befitting  a  Roman  Emperor  than  a  Chris- 
tian statesman.  Mackenzie  was  therefore  assailed 
and  maligned  with  extreme  bitterness.  Part  of  the 
secret  of  this  enmity  was  revealed  with  cynical  frank- 
ness in  a  letter  which  afterwards  came  to  light,  in  which 
he  was  referred  to  as  **a  political  suicide,  that  is  to 
say,  an  honest  man  who  is  not  to  be  bought." 

Weary  of  it  all  Mackenzie  sighs,  ''If  one  had  only 
fair  play,"  a  wish  as  reasonable  as  it  was  futile.  Rhodes 
by  a  disgraceful  intrigue  secured  Mackenzie's  recall 
and  his  own  appointment  as  Commissioner.  This, 
however,  did  not  improve  matters,  and  in  1885  Sir 
Charles  Warren  was  sent  out  at  the  head  of  a  strong 
expedition  to  settle  Bechuanaland.  Entering  on  his 
task  he  began  to  unravel  a  discreditable  tangle.  He 
found  that  important  despatches  had  been  suppressed, 
and  in  particular  a  petition  in  favour  of  Mackenzie 
signed  by  the  majority  of  the  Stellalanders.  This 
petition  Cecil  Rhodes  had  in  his  pocket  while  he  con- 
tinued to  assure  the  Government  thi^t  Mackenzie's 
policy  had  excited  universal  hostility.  Thereupon  Sir 
Charles  Warren,  having  expressed  his  mind  freely  to 
Rhodes,  made  Mackenzie  his  right  hand  man  during 
his  stay  in  Bechuanaland.  At  the  close  of  the  expedi- 
tion he  referred  to  his  work  in  the  highest  terms.  "I 
cannot  too  strongly  express  how  much  I  am  indebted 
to  him  for  the  assistance  he  has  rendered  to  Her  Maj- 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN        111 

esty's  Government.  .  .  .  The  confidence  reposed  in  him 
by  not  only  the  native  tribes  but  also  by  the  Dutch 
and  English  population  has  been  most  marked,  and 
I  consider  the  complete  success  of  the  expedition  is 
due  in  a  marked  degree  to  his  cordial  co-operation  and 
aid.  ...  I  am  convinced  that  if  Mr.  Mackenzie  had 
had  fair  play  he  would  have  settled  these  territories  at 
the  time  he  came  up  without  a  stronger  force  than  two 
hundred  police." 

When  the  Warren  expedition  was  withdrawn  it  was 
soon  apparent  that  Bechuanaland  was  in  danger  of  re- 
lapsing to  the  old  conditions  of  disorder.  To  prevent, 
if  possible,  this  frustration  of  hope,  Mackenzie  returned 
to  England  and  resumed  his  work  of  educating  public 
opinion.  To  aid  in  this  he  wrote  his  book,  Austral 
Africa,  in  which  he  set  forth  with  much  impressiveness 
his  conception  of  Britain's  mission  as  a  Christian  and 
civilizing  power  in  South  Africa.  '*!  know  of  nothing," 
he  wrote,  'Svhich  illustrates  the  present  South  African 
position  so  well  as  the  condition  of  the  United  States 
of  America  before  the  civil  war.  The  great  question 
then  was.  Shall  the  new  territories  become  Free  Soil 
or  Slave  States?"  Believing  then  that  a  great  moral 
issue  was  at  stake,  he  fought  on.  But  powerful  influ- 
ences of  another  sort  were  at  work.  Through  the 
genius  and  force  of  Cecil  Rhodes  the  British  South 
Africa  Company  was  founded  with  almost  unlimited 
means  at  its  disposal,  and  it  received  from  the  Gov- 
ernment a  charter  for  the  development  of  the  vast 
territories  now  known  as  Rhodesia.  This,  though 
securing  these  regions  for  British  influence,  was  far 
from    fulfilling   Mackenzie's   ideal,   and   he  lived  to 


112    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

condemn  with  no  uncertain  voice  the  Company's  treat- 
ment of  the  natives.  It  illustrates  his  magnanimity 
that,  on  reading  that  the  British  South  Africa  pioneers 
proposed  to  travel  by  a  route  which  would  inevitably 
bring  them  into  conflict  with  the  Matabele,  he  wrote 
a  warning  to  the  Company,  giving  a  sketch  and  full 
details  of  a  safer  route,  which  was  accordingly  adopted. 
Though  his  highest  hopes  had  been  disappointed  he 
had  at  least  secured  the  Protectorate  of  Bechuanaland, 
and  a  proposal  was  at  one  time  favourably  considered 
of  reappointing  him  Commissioner.  When  this  fell 
through  he  felt  himself  free  to  return  to  his  work  as 
a  missionary. 

Vin  :  ''Among  God's  Little  Ones,  Content'* 

During  the  years  of  conflict  his  connection  with  the 
London  Missionary  Society  had  been  closely  main- 
tained, for  it  was  recognised  that  he  was  fighting 
the  battle  of  the  mission  as  well  as  of  the  native. 
When  he  was  retired  from  his  commissionership 
the  Directors  cabled  to  him  to  resume  his  salary  as 
a  married  missionary.  This  act  gave  him  as  much 
pure  pleasure  as  any  event  of  his  public  life.  *'Now, 
what  do  you  think,"  he  wrote,  "of  the  dear  old 
L.M.S.  ?  I  mean  to  say  it  is  nobly  done.  I  count 
it  one  of  the  honours  of  my  life  to  reconnect  myself 
in  this  way.  I  shall  accept  the  honour  but  I  trust  I 
shall  not  need  to  draw  the  money.  I  feel  quite  lifted 
up  with  great  thankfulness  that  the  Directors  are  such 
broad-minded,  thoughtful,  Christian  gentlemen." 

It  was   not   considered  expedient  that   Mackenzie 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN        113 

should  return  to  the  Bechuanas.  Accordingly  he  was 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  mission  station  of 
Hankey,  a  settlement  about  fifty  miles  from  Port 
Elizabeth.  Here  he  spent  the  last  seven  years  of  his 
life.  It  was  a  great  change  for  one  who  had  been  for 
years  a  leading  figure  in  the  national  life,  to  be  set  to 
work  in  this  quiet  corner,  but  it  was  work  that  brought 
restfulness  and  peace  of  heart.  The  situation  at  Hankey 
was  peculiar,  and  such  as  called  for  those  qualities  of 
firmness  and  patience,  good  sense  and  statesmanship 
which  had  been  exercised  in  a  wider  field.  The  mis- 
sion station  had  an  estate  of  over  4000  acres  attached 
to  it.  The  original  intention  had  been  to  settle  native 
converts  upon  it,  but  this  policy,  proving  unsuitable, 
was  abandoned  and  permission  obtained  from  the 
Colonial  Government  to  sell  the  land  to  the  native 
tenants.  This  had  not  been  carried  out,  rents  were  in 
arrears,  irrigation  had  been  neglected,  and  things  gen- 
erally were  in  a  mess.  Mackenzie's  task,  in  addition 
to  the  ordinary  work  of  a  missionary,  was  *'to  put 
Hankey  right  from  top  to  bottom."  With  character- 
istic energy  he  set  himself  to  learn  High  Dutch,  in 
which  language  he  had  now  to  preach.  Before  leaving 
England  he  had  bought  the  necessary  books  and,  aided 
by  his  previous  knowledge  of  the  South  African  Taal, 
he  was  able  on  the  first  Sunday  after  his  arrival  at 
Hankey  to  conduct  the  whole  service  and  preach  the 
sermon  in  Dutch. 

Intent  on  his  work  he  shut  himself  up  in  the  little 
valley  of  Hankey,  even  refusing  for  many  weeks  to 
read  the  newspapers  or  take  any  part  in  public  life 
until  he  had  mastered  the  problem  before  him.     It  was 


114    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

a  complex  one,  including  questions  of  land  tenure, 
irrigation,  roadmaking,  etc.,  besides  school  and  church 
work.  Gradually  order  began  to  appear  out  of  chaos. 
One  who  watched  his  work  wrote  of  him,  ''He  can 
wait,  and  if  you  cannot  do  that  here,  you  are  not  good 
for  much.  The  things  he  has  had  to  stand,  the  bicker- 
ings, trials,  small  intrigues,  and  insults,  are  incredible. 
They  would  have  sent  any  other  man  mad  in  a  month. 
.  .  .  And  what  has  come  of  it  all?  Why,  the  place  is 
changed."  It  was  the  same  spirit  of  Christian  patience 
as  he  had  displayed  in  negotiating  with  the  Stella- 
landers,  when  a  Government  official  burst  from  the 
room  saying,  "He  must  be  more  than  human  to  stand 
what  he  does." 

As  a  preacher  he  was  at  his  best  on  communion  Sun- 
days. Then  his  manner  became  peculiarly  tender  and 
his  voice  thrilled  with  emotion.  As  time  passed  he 
had  the  joy  of  seeing  of  the  fruit  of  his  labours  in  a 
considerable  increase  of  the  native  church,  and  in  a 
quickening  of  religious  life  among  the  white  settlers. 
In  his  own  character  his  friends  noted  a  singular  ripen- 
ing and  mellowing.  His  only  brother  and  his  four 
sisters  all  died  in  rapid  succession  in  Scotland,  leaving 
him  the  sole  survivor  of  his  family.  Writing  about 
this  time  to  one  who  had  been  bereaved  he  says,  "Do 
not  lose  heart  in  your  loneliness — grasp  the  pilgrim 
staff  more  firmly.  Each  of  us  must  work  out  his  day 
resolutely  and  with  his  very  best  efforts."  "Resolutely" 
— he  is  still  of  the  mind  that  "the  Lord  will  help  the 
resolved  man." 

In  his  last  years  he  took  little  part  in  public  life, 
beyond   contributing   articles   to   the   leading   English 


JOHN  MACKENZIE,  STATESMAN        115 

reviews  when  asked  to  do  so.  Events  occurred  which 
caused  him  deep  and  anxious  sorrow,  such  as  the  Jame- 
son raid,  the  war  in  South  Bechuanaland,  and  some  of 
the  doings  of  the  Chartered  Company  in  Rhodesia. 
Yet  his  mind  was  singularly  free  from  bitterness.  On 
reading  in  a  newspaper  a  reference  to  "Mackenzie  and 
Rhodes"  as  great  enemies,  he  was  much  distressed 
and,  turning  to  his  wife,  said  with  deep  feeling  that 
there  was  no  one  beyond  his  own  family  for  whom  he 
prayed  more  constantly  than  Cecil  Rhodes.  In  1895 
his  old  friend  Khama  with  two  other  Bechuana  chiefs 
came  to  England  to  protest  against  the  Chartered  Com- 
pany's attempt  to  annex  their  country.  No  African 
perhaps  ever  made  a  more  favourable  impression  on 
the  British  public  than  did  Khama.  His  progress 
through  England  and  Scotland  was  a  triumph  and  his 
mission  a  complete  success.  This  was  naturally  a 
great  delight  to  Mackenzie,  and  probably  it  is  as 
Khama's  missionary  that  he  will  longest  be  remembered 
by  many. 

The  arduous  labours  of  his  life  now  began  to  tell 
upon  him  increasingly.  Several  years  before,  in  the 
midst  of  his  public  anxieties,  he  had  a  sudden  seizure 
when  conducting  a  service  at  Berwick-on-Tweed.  In 
October,  1898,  another  stroke  fell  upon  him,  and  though 
he  made  a  partial  recovery  and  was  able  to  go  on  a 
visit  to  his  son  in  Kimberley,  he  again  had  an  attack 
and  died  on  March  23rd,  1899,  in  his  64th  year. 

Mackenzie's  career  is  a  powerful  reminder  of  the 
vast  forces,  political,  industrial  and  social,  against 
which  the  Christian  missionary  in  Africa  has  to  strug- 
gle, forces  that  embitter  race  feeling  and  hinder  the 


116    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

advance  of  the  Gospel.  He  was  a  far  seeing  man,  a 
great  Christian  statesman  and  a  true  imperiahst.  To 
him  belongs  the  honour  of  hav\ing  been  the  man  who 
first  forced  Britain  to  face  her  God-given  task  of  con- 
trolling the  destinies  of  the  entire  region  from  the 
Cape  to  the  Zambesi.  His  policy  did  not  find  imme- 
diate acceptance,  for  a  prophet  has  often  as  little 
honour  in  his  own  generation  as  in  his  own  country, 
but  it  is  the  same  ideal  which  has  led  to  the  policy  of 
Mandates,  now  taking  shape  under  the  auspices  of  the 
League  of  Nations.  The  native  problem  in  South 
Africa  is  by  no  means  solved,  but  still  causes  the  gravest 
anxiety  to  responsible  statesmen.  Only  the  future  can 
reveal  whether  the  ignorant  tyranny  of  the  Boers,  the 
flagrant  injustice  of  the  land-grabbers  and  the  selfish 
imperialism  of  Cecil  Rhodes  may  not  have  laid  up, 
deep  in  the  mind  of  the  African,  a  store  of  resentment 
which  may  yet  have  to  be 'dearly  paid  for.  Certain  it 
is  that  if  such  a  dire  result  is  to  be  averted  it  will  only 
be  by  the  patient  and  steady  application  of  those  prin- 
ciples of  Christian  justice  and  brotherhood  which 
Mackenzie  so  powerfully  advocated,  to  heal  the  wounds 
already  made. 


CHAPTER  V 

STEWART   OF    LOVEDALE 

When  David  Livingstone,  after  crossing  the  African 
continent,  appealed  to  the  Christians  of  Britain  to 
enter  by  the  door  which  he  had  opened,  there  was  a 
young  student  in  Scotland  who  felt  this  as  a  personal 
call,  and  resolved  to  give  his  life  to  the  redemption 
of  Central  Africa.  In  the  providence  of  God  he  found 
his  work  in  South,  rather  than  Central,  Africa,  but  his 
pioneering  on  the  Zambesi,  and  the  impulse  he  gave 
to  the  founding  of  the  Livingstonia  Mission,  were 
an  invaluable  contribution  to  the  fulfilment  of  Living- 
stone's dearest  hope.  James  Stewart,  therefore,  must 
be  named  as  the  first,  and  one  of  the  worthiest,  of  all 
who  have  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  the  great  explorer. 

I:  A  Son  of  the  Disruption 

He  was  born  on  February  14,  1831,  in  the  city  of 
Edinburgh,  where  his  father  was  a  cab  proprietor.  In 
1842  the  family  removed  to  the  farm  of  Pictonshill, 
near.  Scone  in  Perthshire,  and  this  was  their  home  till 
1847  when  they  returned  to  Edinburgh.  These  five 
years  cover  the  period  of  the  Disruption,  when  reli- 
gious feeling  and  controversy  in  Scotland  were  at 
fever  heat.  The  farmer  of  Bictonshill  was  the  main- 
stay of  the  Free  Church  in  Scone.    Meetings  were  held 

117 


118    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

in  his  barn,  where  the  country  people  sat  breathless 
under  the  fervent  preaching  of  Andrew  Bonar  and 
the  saintly  John  Milne  of  Perth.  When  the  Free 
Church  of  Scone  was  built,  'Tictonshill"  carted  the 
stones  free  of  charge,  and  in  this  labour  of  love  his 
son  James,  then  a  schoolboy  at  Perth  Academy,  lent 
a  willing  hand  in  his  holidays.  It  is  pleasing  to  relate 
that  the  same  autumn  the  villagers  of  Scone,  to  show 
their  gratitude,  insisted  on  reaping  the  fields  of  Pictons- 
hill  without  hire. 

In  this  time  of  religious  quickening  the  ardent  spirit 
of  James  Stewart  took  fire.  One  day  as  he  followed 
the  plough,  his  mind  busy  with  the  dreams  of  youth, 
the  patient  horses  halted  in  the  furrow,  and  there, 
leaning  on  the  stilts,  he  brooded  on  his  future  till,  sud- 
denly straightening  himself  up,  he  said,  "God  helping 
me,  I  will  be  a  missionary."  Writing  long  after  of 
his  boyhood,  he  said,  "Though  from  my  earliest  years 
I  meant  to  go  abroad,  I  cannot  say  that  missionary  work 
attracted  me  at  first.  The  boy's  ideal,  firmly  fixed  and 
constantly  recurring,  was  to  lead  an  expedition  in 
some  unexplored  region.  That  was  probably  nothing 
more  than  the  mere  restlessness  of  race-instinct  in  a 
boy  half  Norse  on  his  mother's  side,  if  also  half  Celt 
on  the  other."  Nature  and  grace  now  combined  to 
make  him  a  knight  errant  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

In  1847  his  father,  owing  to  money  losses,  gave 
up  his  farm  and  returned  to  business  in  Edinburgh. 
In  this  financial  strait  young  Stewart  gave  his  help 
for  several  years,  and  he  was  twenty  before  the  way 
opened  for  him  to  go  to  the  university.  His  curricu- 
lum, however,  was  extraordinarily  complete  and  varied. 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  119 

It  embraced  three  full  courses  of  four  years  each  in 
Arts,  Divinity  and  Medicine.  His  Arts  and  Divinity 
courses  were  taken  at  Edinburgh  (1850-59),  except 
two  sessions  at  St.  Andrews  (1852-54).  His  medical 
studies  were  begun  at  Edinburgh  (1859-61),  and,  after 
being  interrupted  by  his  adventurous  trip  to  the  Zam- 
besi, were  completed  at  Glasgow  (1864-66).  During 
the  whole  time  he  supported  himself,  at  first  by  private 
tutoring,  afterwards  by  preaching  and  secretarial  work. 
His  character  and  bearing  seem  to  have  left  a  vivid 
impression  on  the  minds  of  his  fellow  students.  Tall 
and  thin, — his  height  was  six  feet  two  inches — full  of 
wiry  strength,  with  a  long,  eager  stride  that  carried 
him  forward  as  if  he  swooped  on  things,  gifted  with 
a  fine  mobile  face  and  expressive  eyes,  and  bearing 
himself  with  soldierly  dignity,  he  made  a  distinguished 
figure  in  any  company. 

His  home  circle  was  early  broken  by  death.  He 
lost  his  mother  when  quite  young  and  his  father  mar- 
ried again.  After  his  father's  death  he  lived  for  sev- 
eral years  with  his  step-mother,  who  loved  him  like 
an  only  son.  Their  mutual  affection  was  very  rare  and 
beautiful.  She  died,  however,  when  he  was  a  divinity 
student  and  he  was  left  alone  in  the  world.  ''What  an 
affection  she  lavished  upon  me,"  he  writes,  ''now  I 
can  never  repay  her.  .  .  .  Despite  all  my  infirmity  of 
temper,  sometimes,  alas  too  often,  overcoming  me,  I 
loved  my  mother  and  she  knew  it." 

n :  With  Livingstone  on  the  Zambesi 

Stewart's  thoughts  were  definitely  turned  to  Africa 
by  Livingstone's  visit  to  England  in  1857  and  the  pub- 


120    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

lication  of  his  travels.  He  was  then  a  divinity  student. 
At  the  close  of  his  course  he  intimated  to  the  Foreign 
Mission  Committee  of  the  Free  Church  that  he  and 
two  fellow  students  were  willing  to  go  as  pioneer  mis- 
sionaries to  the  regions  of  Central  Africa  which  Liv- 
ingstone had  opened  up.  This  offer  the  committee, 
though  interested  in  the  proposal,  felt  compelled  to 
decline.  Most  students  would  have  considered  such 
a  refusal  decisive,  but  Stewart  was  not  built  that  way. 
He  was  tenacious  and  resolute,  even  to  a  fault,  and 
difficulties,  for  him,  existed  only  to  be  overcome.  He 
had  commenced  his  medical  studies  with  a  view  to  fit- 
ting himself  more  fully  for  service  in  Africa.  Now 
he  set  to  work  and  formed  an  influential  committee, 
called  the  New  Central  Africa  Committee.  He  raised 
subscriptions,  threw  his  whole  private  means  into  the 
fund,  and  was  commissioned  by  the  committee  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  Zambesi  on  a  mission  of  inquiry. 

He  set  sail  in  July,  1861,  in  the  company  of  Mrs. 
Livingstone.  Dr.  Livingstone  was  at  that  time  British 
consul  on  the  Zambesi,  and  had  just  aided  in  planting 
the  Universities'  Mission  in  the  Shire  Highlands  to 
the  south  of  Lake  Nyasa.  Reinforcements  were  going 
out  to  strengthen  that  mission,  including  Bishop  Mac- 
kenzie's sister  and  Mrs.  Burrup,  and  a  brig  had  been 
hired  to  convey  the  party  from  Durban  to  the  Zambesi 
mouth.  Both  at  Cape  Town  and  at  Durban  Stewart 
was  amazed  to  find  himself  the  object  of  bitter  attacks 
on  the  part  of  some  who  seemed  determined  that  he 
should  never  reach  the  Zambesi.  In  certain  quarters 
he  was  represented  as  a  trader  in  the  guise  of  a  mis- 
sionary.   The  Church  of  England  authorities  regarded 


STEWART  OF  LOVED  ALE  121 

him  as  a  poacher  on  their  preserves.  Having  com- 
menced mission  work  the  previous  year  at  a  single 
station,  which  they  were  to  abandon  the  following  year, 
they  appeared  to  consider  the  whole  of  Central  Africa 
as  their  diocese,  and  were  ready  to  cry,  "Hands  off," 
to  all  other  Christians.  It  was  a  pitiful  exhibition  of 
that  exclusive  spirit  which  the  Church  of  England 
alone  of  Protestant  Churches  cherishes,  and  which  is 
peculiarly  detestable  in  the  mission  field.  At  Durban 
Stewart  despaired  of  being  permitted  to  go  farther, 
but  Mrs.  Livingstone  came  to  the  rescue  by  declaring 
firmly  that  she  would  not  go  without  him.  So  perforce 
he  had  to  be  allowed  on  board,  and  arrived  off  the 
mouth  of  the  Zambesi  where  he  was  warmly  welcomed 
by  Livingstone  on  February  i,  1862. 

For  four  months  he  was  Livingstone's  guest  at 
Shupanga  and  received  from  him  every  encouragement 
in  his  project  of  planting  a  Scottish  mission  in  Central 
Africa.  In  April  Mrs.  Livingstone  died.  Stewart 
was  present  on  that  sad  occasion  and  at  Livingstone's 
request  commended  her  soul  to  God.  Next  day  he 
helped  to  lay  her  body  in  the  grave.  In  these  circum- 
stances the  tvv^o  men  were  drawn  very  closely  together 
and  spent  the  evenings  in  long,  intimate  talks.  But 
the  call  of  their  work  soon  separated  them.  While  Liv- 
ingstone proceeded  to  the  exploration  of  the  Rovuma, 
Stewart  got  a  canoe  with  eight  rowers  and  pushed  up 
the  Shire.  Then,  leaving  the  canoe  below  the  Murchison 
cataracts,  he  travelled  on  foot  through  the  Shire  High- 
lands, where  Blantyre  now  stands.  While  recognising 
the  natural  fertility  and  healthiness  of  the  country,  he 
reports  it  "a  lonely  lan^.  of  barbarism,  of  game  and 


122    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

wild  beasts,  of  timid  and  harried  but  not  unkindly  men, 
harassed  by  never  ending  slave  raids  and  inter-tribal 
wars."  It  was  a  bitter  disappointment  that  his  resources 
did  not  permit  him  to  reach  Lake  Nyasa,  though  he 
was  within  fifty  miles  of  its  southern  end.  Returning 
to  the  Zambesi  he  proceeded  up  that  river  past  Tete 
as  far  as  the  Kebrabasa  rapids.  He  did  a  great  deal 
of  hard  tramping  in  examining  the  country  on  both 
sides  of  the  river.  Livingstone  speaks  of  "the  most 
praiseworthy  energy  with  which  he  did  all  this  in 
spite  of  occasional  attacks  of  fever."  Stewart  him- 
self wrote,  ''Considering  the  way  we  lived,  the  wonder 
is  we  were  ever  free  from  fever.  We  carried  no  tents 
but  slept  in  the  open  when  dry,  and  in  the  canoe  when 
it  rained.  Except  tea  and  coffee,  we  carried  no  civilised 
provisions,  but  depended  mainly  on  what  could  be  got 
in  the  country."  So  severely  had  the  fever  told  upon 
him  that,  when  he  returned  to  the  coast.  Captain  Wilson, 
from  whom  he  had  parted  fifteen  months  before,  failed 
completely  to  recognise  him,  and  described  him  after- 
wards as  being  **more  like  a  bag  of  bones  than  a  man." 
He  returned  to  Scotland  after  an  absence  of  nearly 
two  and  a  half  years,  bringing  with  him  a  considerable 
amount  of  fresh  and  accurate  information  regarding 
the  state  of  Central  Africa  and  the  prospects  of  Chris- 
tian work  there.  He  reported  that  the  most  hopeful 
line  of  advance  appeared  to  be  northward  by  the  Shire 
to  Lake  Nyasa,  not  westward  along  the  Zambesi.  At 
the  same  time  his  view  was  that  the  disturbed  state 
of  the  country  made  the  planting  of  a  mission  for 
the  moment  impossible.  The  collapse  of  the  Univer- 
sities'  Mission  may  have  helped  to  this  conclusion. 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  123 

Livingstone  thought  it  too  hasty  and  continued  to 
hope  that  Stewart  would  rejoin  him  on  the  Zambesi. 
It  was  not,  however,  until  after  Livingstone's  death 
that  Stewart's  work  bore  fruit  in  the  Livingstonia  and 
Blantyre  Missions. 

Ill :  Tlie  Builder  of  Lovedale 

Meantime  Stewart  resumed  and  completed  his  medi- 
cal studies  at  Glasgow.  Thereafter  he  was  appointed 
to  Lovedale  in  South  Africa.  In  November,  1866, 
he  married  Mina,  youngest  daughter  of  Alex.  Stephen, 
shipbuilder,  Glasgow,  and  together  they  reached  Love- 
dale on  January  2,  1867.  In  accepting  this  appoint- 
ment Dr.  Stewart  had  stipulated  that  whenever  a  new 
mission  should  be  planted  in  Central  Africa  he  should 
be  free  to  join  it.  Seven  long  years  were  to  elapse 
before  that  time  came,  seven  years  in  which  he 
struck  his  roots  deep,  and  filled  his  hands  with  work 
that  he  could  not  forsake.  So,  although  Dr.  Stewart, 
as  will  presently  appear,  aided  in  founding  and  organ- 
ising Livingstonia,  it  was  at  Lovedale  that  he  found 
his  life  work,  and  reared  an  enduring  monument  to  his 
name. 

Lovedale  lies  about  80  miles  inland  from  East  Lon- 
don, in  the  northeast  corner  of  Cape  Colony,  which 
is  the  ancient  home  of  the  Kafir  race.  In  1824  a  mis- 
sion was  planted  here  by  the  Glasgow  Missionary 
Society,  and  named  Lovedale  after  Dr.  Love,  the  first 
secretary  of  the  Society.  The  site  was  a  bare,  open 
valley,  through  which  the  little  river  Tyumie  flows,  but 
it  has  been  greatly  beautified  by  planting  and  cultiva- 


124    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

tion.  As  the  Kafrarian  mission  developed  a  training 
school  was  established  here  in  1841,  under  the  charge 
of  the  Rev.  W.  Govan.  Thus  when  Dr.  Stewart  arrived 
Mr.  Govan  had  been  at  work  for  over  a  quarter  of  a 
century  with  considerable  success.  The  Institution 
had  produced  at  least  one  student  of  distinction  in  Tiyo 
Soga,  the  preacher  and  writer,  one  of  Africa's  most 
eminent  sons.  In  the  late  fifties,  with  the  aid  of  Gov- 
ernment grants,  provision  was  made  for  industrial 
training  as  well  as  general  education,  and  natives  were 
apprenticed  as  carpenters  and  wagon-builders,  masons 
and  blacksmiths.     Printing  was  added  in  1861. 

Lovedale  was  visited  in  1864  by  Dr.  Duff,  the  famous 
Indian  educationalist,  who  reported  in  favour  of  a 
considerable  extension  and  reorganisation  of  the  work. 
The  Institution  was  based  on  the  principle  of  equality, 
no  distinction  being  made  between  the  boys  from  the 
various  tribes  and  different  missions.  A  small  minority 
of  white  pupils  sat  on  the  same  benches  as  the  Africans. 
Mr.  Govan's  idea  was  to  provide  at  Lovedale,  for  such 
as  were  able  to  receive  it,  both  natives  and  whites,  an 
English  High  School  education,  including  Latin  and 
Greek.  Dr.  Duff  had  the  fear  that  this  policy  tended 
to  draw  the  school  aside  from  its  proper  work  of 
training  native  pastors  and  teachers.  The  matter  was 
the  subject  of  some  controversy  at  the  time,  which 
eventually  led  to  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Govan,  shortly 
after  Dr.  Stewart  arrived  at  Lovedale.  The  young  mis- 
sionary had  therefore  a  free  field  in  which  to  work  for 
the  development  of  the  Institution. 

No  fitter  man  could  have  been  found  for  the  task. 
He  was  not  without  experience  of  Africa,  and  he  had 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  125 

brooded  on  her  needs  and  problems  for  years.  He 
was  a  man  who  knew  his  own  mind,  bold  in  concep- 
tion, swift  and  decisive  in  action,  a  tireless  worker 
and  a  born  administrator.  The  impression  he  made 
upon  the  natives  was  expressed  in  the  name  by  which 
he  became  known  among  their  tribes,  Somgxada,  the 
Swift  Strider.  If  he  had  a  fault  it  lay  in  the  direction 
of  being  impetuous  and,  as  some  would  have  said, 
overbearing.  But,  if  quick,  he  was  also  very  tender. 
No  matter  what  work  he  had  on  hand,  the  moment  he 
heard  of  distress  or  sickness  or  death  he  was  there 
to  comfort  and  to  help. 

Here  is  a  picture  of  him,  printed  indelibly  on  the 
heart  of  a  little  child.  "My  father  was  District  Sur- 
geon for  some  years  at  Alice,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  Lovedale.  To  me  then,  although  a  child,  Dr. 
Stewart  seemed  a  second  St.  John  'whom  Jesus  loved/ 
One  evening  about  forty  years  ago,  there  was  a  hurried 
knocking  at  our  hall  door,  and  upon  opening  we  found 

a  recent  acquaintance,  whose  husband,  Major  G , 

was  absent  for  a  short  time,  standing  with  her  little 
boy  in  her  arms. 

''  'Oh!'  she  cried,  'R has  been  bitten  by  a  snake.' 

"He  was  a  dear  Httle  fellow  about  four  years  of 
age.     He  had  been  bitten  in  several  places,  as  Mrs. 

G in  her  fright  had  fallen  with  him,  and  forehead, 

leg  and  hands  all  bore  marks  of  the  snake's  malice. 
My  father  was  away.  What  was  to  be  done?  We 
sent  for  Dr.  Stewart.     He  came  and  stayed  all  night. 

I  can  see  them  now — Mrs.  G on  her  knees  by  the 

bedside,  and  dear  Dr.  Stewart.  He  sucked  every  one 
of  those  wounds.  .  .  .  For  the  passing  stranger  whose 


126    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

mother-heart  was  crying  so  sorely,  Tet  this  cup  pass/ 
for  the  wee  unknown  laddie,  whose  little  life  as  com- 
pared to  his  was  as  naught,  he  took  in  the  poison  and 
saved  the  child." 

The  companion  picture  is  as  beautiful,  and  gives 
the  happy  sequel.  Thirty  years  have  passed  away  and 
Dr.  Stewart  is  known  and  honoured  in  all  the  Churches. 
One  day  he  is  found  in  his  study,  playing  with  his 
little  grandchild,  so  pleased  and  laughing  because  the 
little  fellow  is  "making  his  fingers  like  Granddaddy, 
and  Granddaddy  is  a  bad  boy  too,''  and  he  won't  have 
him  taken  away  because  ''they  are  both  enjoying  them- 
selves," he  says.  And  the  golden  link  that  binds  the 
stories  is  that  the  father  of  the  little  grandchild  was 
the  boy  whose  poisoned  wounds  Dr.  Stewart  had 
sucked. 

The  coming  of  Dr.  Stewart  brought  new  life  to 
Lovedale,  and  under  him  the  development  of  the  Insti- 
tution was  so  great  as  completely  to  dwarf  all  that  had 
gone  before.  He  discarded  as  useless  the  attempt  to 
teach  Latin  and  Greek.  Some  of  the  natives,  ambitious 
for  a  display  of  learning,  grumbled  at  this,  but  he 
maintained  that  English  was  their  classic,  and  a  suffi- 
cient mental  discipline.  A  much  more  startling  inno- 
vation was  the  introduction  of  fees.  No  one  had  yet 
dared  to  imagine  that  natives  would  be  induced  to  pay 
for  education.  After  a  two  days'  palaver  on  the  ques- 
tion Dr.  Stewart  carried  his  point.  A  man,  Nyoka, 
whose  name  the  doctor  ever  after  remembered  with 
gratitude,  rose  and  said,  "I  will  give  £4  for  my  son." 
Others  followed.  Contrary  to  all  expectation,  so  suc- 
cessful was  the  new  policy  that  in  the  four  years  from 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  127 

1870  to  1874  the  number  of  pupils  rose  from  92  to  480, 
and  the  fees  from  nothing  to  £1300. 

Dr.  Stewart  laid  the  greatest  stress  upon  the  dignity 
of  manual  labour.  He  strove  to  rouse  the  native  from 
his  ancestral  indolence,  and  at  the  same  time  to  guard 
against  the  conceit  that  education  sometimes  brings. 
His  aim  was  to  make  him  in  every  way  a  more  capable 
and  energetic  man.  Accordingly  every  afternoon  at 
three  o'clock  the  boys  were  paraded  in  work  parties, 
and  Dr.  Stewart  w^ould  often  go  out  at  their  head 
armed  with  his  spade.  On  one  occasion  a  party  of 
visitors  who  had  come  to  see  Lovedale  when  its  fame 
had  spread  through  all  the  Colony,  found  a  gang  of 
Kafir  boys  busily  digging.  They  addressed  the  fore- 
man of  the  gang  who  stood,  spade  in  hand.  "Is  Dr. 
Stewart  at  home?"  "Yes,"  was  the  reply.  "Can 
you  tell  us  where  to  find  him?"  "He  is  here.  I  am 
Dr.  Stewart."  Lovedale  is  perhaps  the  only  College 
in  the  world  where  a  gold  medal  is  given  for  the  best 
spadework. 

Among  these  manifold  activities  the  religious  and 
missionary  aim  was  ever  kept  supreme.  Dr.  Stewart 
felt  a  personal  responsibility  for  seeing  that  no  boy 
should  drift  through  Lovedale  without  having  the 
claims  of  Christ  definitely  brought  before  him.  The 
senior  students  were  encouraged  to  go  out  on  Sunday 
morning  and  preach  in  the  neighbouring  kraals,  and 
on  Saturday  evening  Dr.  Stewart  was  accustomed  to 
meet  with  them  and  study  the  subjects  of  their  ad- 
dresses. Twice  a  year  a  week  of  special  services  was 
held  at  the  Institution,  in  order  to  bring  to  decision 
those  who  had  been  under  Christian  teaching  in  the 


128    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

classes.  Some  of  these  occasions  were  memorable,  no- 
tably in  1874  when  Lovedale  was  visited  by  a  wave  of 
revival,  doubtless  due  in  some  measure  to  sympathetic 
contact  with  the  revival  then  in  progress  at  home. 
One  result  of  this  movement  was  that  when  volunteers 
were  asked  for  Livingstonia  fourteen  students  offered 
themselves.  On  hearing  this  a  doubter  exclaimed, 
*'Now  I  believe  in  the  Lovedale  revival.  Before,  I 
didn't.'' 

IV:  The  Spirit  of  the  Fingoes 

Towards  the  close  of  his  first  period  of  service  in 
Lovedale  Dr.  Stewart  was  suddenly  faced  with  a  great 
additional  task.  To  the  north  of  Lovedale,  in  the 
land  beyond  the  Great  Kei  River,  is  the  home  of  the 
Fingoes.  They  were  the  broken  remnant  of  certain 
Zulu  tribes  who,  for  their  loyalty  to  Britain,  had  been 
granted  a  settlement  there.  They  had  previously  been 
degraded  and  enslaved  by  other  tribes,  but  now,  under 
the  wise  guidance  of  a  British  resident.  Captain  Blyth, 
they  had  begun  to  realise  their  manhood.  Looking  wist- 
fully at  Lovedale  they  at  length  in  1873  appealed  to  Dr. 
Stewart  to  plant  among  them  a  similar  Institution,  "a 
child  of  Lovedale,"  as  they  called  it.  Dr.  Stewart  had 
planned  costly  extensions  at  Lovedale  and  was  on  the 
eve  of  going  home  to  raise  the  necessary  money,  so 
that  this  fresh  appeal  was  embarrassing  and  might  well 
have  seemed  impossible.  Dr.  Stewart  started  for 
Fingoland,  but  after  a  day's  journey  he  turned  aside 
into  the  house  of  a  friend  and  wrote  a  letter  to  Captain 
Blyth  proposing  that  if  the  Fingoes  would  themselves 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  129 

raise  £1000,  he  would  find  another  £1000.  No  such 
proposal  had  ever  before  been  made  to  a  native  tribe, 
and  Dr.  Stewart  was  more  than  half  inclined  to  think 
it  would  quench  the  ardour  of  the  Fingoes.  Three 
months  later  he  received  a  telegram  from  Captain 
Blyth,  ''Come  up,  the  money  is  ready/'  He  lost  no 
time  in  complying  with  this  request,  and  his  meeting 
with  the  Fingoes  was  as  picturesque  as  it  was  historic. 
Thirty  years  later  he  described  it  thus:  "The  meeting 
to  hand  over  that  subscription  was  held  at  Ngqamakwe 
on  the  veldt,  there  being  no  building  large  enough  for 
the  crowd  of  men  and  women  and  missionaries.  On 
a  small  deal  table  which  stood  on  the  grass  was  a  large 
heap  of  silver,  over  £1450,  and  the  substance  of  the 
native  speaking  that  day  was  given  in  a  sentence  by 
one  of  themselves.  He  pointed  to  the  money  and  said, 
*There  are  the  stones,  now  build.'  Kafirs  are  all  good 
speakers,  figurative,  concrete,  pointed.  There  was 
further  speaking,  and  the  people  were  assured  that  their 
contribution  would  be  covered  by  one  of  equal  amount, 
to  be  raised  in  Scotland  or  elsewhere,  and  all  went 
home  satisfied  that  the  institution  was  safe,  as  the  sum 
of  £3000  had  been  practically  guaranteed." 

During  the  progress  of  the  building  certain  addi- 
tions were  considered  necessary,  and  again  the  Fingoes 
rose  to  the  occasion.  Another  meeting  was  held,  more 
speeches  were  made,  and  a  second  £1500  in  silver  was 
subscfibed.  When  the  Institution  was  opened  in  1877 
there  still  remained  a  debt  of  £1600.  On  Sir  Bartle 
Frere  mentioning  this  to  one  of  the  headmen,  he  replied, 
*The  thing  is  settled.  We  are  going  to  pay  all  the 
debt."     And  they  did.     A  final  meeting  was  held  at 


130    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

which,  with  considerable  flourish  of  trumpets  and  abun- 
dant speechifying  after  the  native  fashion,  amid  a  scene 
of  great  enthusiasm,  shilHngs  and  half  crowns  were 
forthcoming  in  sufficient  quantity  to  pay  the  debt.  The 
institution  was  called  Blythswood,  in  honour  of  Captain 
Blyth,  and  it  has  proved  itself  not  only  "a  child  of 
Lovedale,"  but  the  mother  of  civilisation  in  Fingoland. 
In  1890  it  was  declared  by  a  competent  observer  that 
"the  Fingoes  of  Transkei  are  half  a  century  ahead  of 
their  countrymen  in  wealth,  intelligence,  and  material 
progress,  agricultural  skill,  sobriety,  and  civilised  habits 
of  life." 

V :  The  Birth  of  Livingstonia 

Dr.  Stewart  returned  to  Scotland  early  in  1874, 
having  on  hand  the  double  task  of  raising  £10,000  for 
Lovedale  and  £1500,  according  to  his  pledge,  for 
Blythswood.  At  the  moment  he  had  no  more  thought 
of  a  mission  in  Central  Africa,  as  he  said  afterwards, 
"than  of  proposing  a  mission  to  the  North  Pole."  But 
the  body  of  David  Livingstone  was  brought  home,  and 
made  its  mute  appeal  to  the  Christians  of  Britain  and 
of  the  world.  On  the  i8th  of  April,  1874,  Dr.  Stewart 
took  part  in  the  funeral  in  Westminster  Abbey,  and 
the  following  month,  at  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Free  Church,  he  proposed,  as  Scotland's  memorial  of 
Livingstone,  the  founding  of  a  mission  in  Central 
Africa.  The  closing  sentence  of  his  speech  deserves 
to  be  quoted,  as  nobly  describing  the  ideal  of  the  mis- 
sion, and  giving  public  utterance  for  the  first  time  to 
the  historic  name  of  Livingstonia.     "I  would  humbly 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  131 

suggest,  as  the  truest  memorial  of  Livingstone,  the 
establishment  by  this  Church,  or  several  Churches 
together,  of  an  institution  at  once  industrial  and  edu- 
cational, to  teach  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  and  the  arts 
of  civilised  life  to  the  natives  of  the  country,  and  that 
it  be  placed  in  a  carefully  selected  and  commanding 
spot  in  Central  Africa,  where  from  its  position  and 
capabilities  it  might  grow  into  a  town,  and  afterwards 
into  a  city,  and  become  a  great  centre  of  commerce, 
civilisation,  and  Christianity.  And  this  I  would  call 
Livingstonia." 

The  proposal  was  adopted  with  enthusiasm,  but 
upon  Dr.  Stewart's  willing  shoulders  fell  the  burden 
of  raising  the  necessary  £10,000.  He  set  to  work  and 
speedily  raised  £20,000.  So  swiftly  did  things  move 
that,  exactly  twelve  months  after  the  Assembly  speech, 
the  pioneer  party  under  Mr.  E.  D.  Young  and  Dr.  Laws 
left  for  the  Zambesi,  carrying  with  them  the  little 
steamer  Ilala  for  use  on  Lake  Nyasa.  No  wonder  Dr. 
Stewart,  writing  to  his  wife,  says,  ''Livingstonia  is 
the  heaviest  piece  of  business  I  have  undertaken  in  my 
life.  The  responsibility  is  very  great  from  the  amount 
of  money,  life,  and  credit  that  is  at  stake.'* 

He  was  not  able  to  lead  the  pioneer  party  himself 
as  he  had  to  fulfil  his  obligations  to  Lovedale  and 
Blythswood,  but  the  summer  of  1887  saw  him  back  at 
Lovedale  and  ready  to  start  for  Central  Africa  with 
reinforcements  for  Livingstonia.  In  his  party  were 
four  students  of  Lovedale,  one  of  whom,  William 
Koyi,  is  well  entitled  to  be  called  the  Apostle  of  Ngoni- 
land.  They  reached  Quilimane  in  August,  sailed  up 
the  Zambesi  and  Shire  in  canoes,  and,  having  accom- 


132    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

plished  the  portages  of  the  Murchison  Cataracts,  met 
the  Ilala  in  the  upper  river  and  steamed  into  the  lake. 
Dr.  Stewart  remained  for  fifteen  months  at  Lake  Nyasa 
till  the  new  mission  was  fairly  on  its  feet.  Then  he 
returned  to  Lovedale  in  the  beginning  of  1878.  Thus 
he  had  given  altogether  five  of  the  best  years  of  his 
life  to  Central  Africa. 

VI :  The  Triumph  of  Lovedale 

From  this  time  onward  Dr.  Stewart  devoted  his 
strength  to  Lovedale,  and  under  his  powerful  leader- 
ship the  Institution  was  raised  to  the  proud  position 
which  it  occupies  to-day  as  the  glory  of  South  African 
missions,  and  the  rock  that  splinters  the  shafts  of 
the  missionary  critic.  All  who  would  know  what  can 
be  made  of 'the  native  must  visit  it,  and  the  visitor  will 
carry  away  the  most  pleasant  and  inspiring  memories. 
From  the  railway  station  of  Alice  one  has  a  charming 
view  of  a  well-wooded  valley,  with  many  roofs  of  scat- 
tered buildings  rising  over  the  trees.  Then  follows  a 
mile  of  a  drive  between  hedgerows  of  quince,  and  along 
a  stately  avenue.  The  spreading  oaks  and  lofty  pines, 
the  flower  and  shrub  plots,  the  trim  turf  and  well  kept 
gravel  paths  are  a  refreshing  sight  in  a  land  of  dreary 
veldt.  At  the  head  of  the  avenue  stands  the  main  build- 
ing of  the  Institution,  which  contains  a  central  hall 
with  classrooms,  library,  and  bookstore.  To  the  right 
are  the  boys'  dormitory  and  the  dining  hall,  the  work- 
shops and  technical  buildings,  and,  in  the  distance,  the 
Victoria  Hospital.  To  the  left,  along  a  shady  avenue, 
are  the  buildings  of  the  girls'  school    Scattered  through 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  133 

the  grounds  are  the  teachers'  houses,  and,  in  the  bottom 
of  the  valley,  the  Tyumie  murmurs  along  between  deep 
banks. 

At  Lovedale  are  gathered  in  hundreds  the  brightest  of 
the  native  youth  of  South  Africa.  They  belong  to 
every  tribe  from  the  Cape  to  the  Zambesi.  Fingoes, 
Gaikas,  Basutos,  Zulus,  Barolongs,  Bechuanas,  Meta- 
bele,  are  all  mingled  in  friendly  rivalry  of  work  and 
sport.  The  six  o'clock  morning  bell  rings  out  'over 
the  valley,  and  soon  the  whole  community  is  astir.  A 
busy  hum  resounds  through  the  classrooms  and  work- 
shops till  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  there  is 
a  general  parade  for  outdoor  work  which  lasts  till  five. 
On  Saturday  the  centre  of  interest  is  the  ''Oval,"  where 
many  a  keen  game  is  contested.  Sunday  brings  its 
own  activities.  By  6:30  in  the  morning  little  mission 
bands  are  on  their  way  to  preach  in  the  neighbour- 
ing kraals.  In  the  evening,  when  the  sacred  labours 
of  the  day  are  over,  all  assemble  for  worship  in  the 
central  hall.  To  organise,  superintend,  and  finance 
this  great  Institution  was  a  Herculean  task.  The 
Christian  Express  of  Lovedale  thus  described  Dr.  Stew- 
art's activities :  "He  deemed  fourteen,  sixteen,  or  even 
eighteen  hours  of  incessant  toil  a  common  daily  task. 
He  taught  in  the  Institution,  he  edited  this  paper,  he 
had  medical  charge  of  the  Mission.  In  addition  to 
week-day  service  he  preached  two  sermons  every 
Sabbath,  he  saw  to  every  detail  of  the  work,  he  guided 
every  distinct  department,  he  examined  the  classes,  he 
superintended  the  field  companies,  he  was  here,  there, 
and  everywhere,  tireless,  commanding,  inspiring.  At 
a  period  when  medical  aid  was  difficult  to  obtain  in 


134    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

the  district,  many  were  the  calls  made  on  his  time  and 
strength.  Yet  he  gave  both  ungrudgingly,  and  no 
home  was  too  far,  no  road  too  difficult,  no  night  too 
stormy,  to  hinder  the  great  missionary  in  his  errands 
of  mercy/' 

It  seemed  to  some  that  he  burdened  himself  unduly 
with  details,  and  in  his  eagerness  held  the  reins  too 
much  in  his  own  hands.  That  is  a  common  fault  of 
great  rulers,  but  Dr.  Stewart  was  far  from  conforming 
to  the  type  of  the  soulless  autocrat.  All  Lovedale  knew 
that  he  had  a  very  tender  heart.  **My  dear  fellow," 
he  exclaimed  as  he  stood  by  the  death-bed  of  one  of 
his  colleagues,  "forgive  me  if  ever  I  have  seemed  harsh, 
or  have  hurt  you  in  any  way."  "I  know  nothing,"  was 
the  reply,  ''but  your  great  goodness  to  me  and  mine 
these  many  years." 

He  watched  over  his  pupils  with  fatherly  care.  He 
had  learned  from  Livingstone  to  respect  the  manhood 
of  the  natives,  and  he  resented  the  contemptuous  treat- 
ment they  too  often  received  from  the  colonists.  *'I 
am  a  father,"  he  used  to  say,  **and  I  wish  to  treat  these 
children  entrusted  to  me  as  I  should  like  my  own  chil- 
dren to  be  treated  if  they  were  under  the  care  of 
strangers." 

His  own  home  life  was  exceedingly  happy,  and  none 
was  readier  than  he  to  make  merry  with  his  children  and 
his  friends.  It  was  said  of  him  that  *'he  could  laugh 
tears."  Some  of  his  letters  to  his  children  remind  one, 
in  their  tenderness,  of  Luther's  letters  to  his  little  Hans. 
Thus  he  writes  to  his  little  girl,  *'I  will  tell  you  now 
what  I  am  doing.  I  go  about  the  streets  and  into  the 
offices,  and  I  say  to  this  man,  'Give  me  a  hundred 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  135 

pounds  for  Lovedale,'  and  to  another  who  is  not  so 
rich  I  say,  'Give  me  fifty  pounds.'  And  they  give  it 
because  they  love  Christ  and  have  already  given  Him 
their  hearts.  Now  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  give 
Jesus  something  too.  Go  into  the  garden  and  see  if 
there  are  any  flowers.  Then  go  into  another  garden 
and  you  will  find  a  flower.  Take  it  and  say,  'Lord 
Jesus,  I  give  you  this.  It  is  a  little  flower,  it  is  my 
heart.  I  give  it  to  you  because  you  love  me.  You  love 
me  so  much  that  long  ago  you  died  for  me.  And  now 
I  give  the  little  flower  of  my  life,  and  I  pray  to  you, 

In  the  Kingdorri  of  Thy  grace 
Give  a  little  child  a  place.' 

And  he  will  give  you  that  place,  and  you  will  be  a 
glad  and  happy  little  girl,  and  we  shall  be  so  happy 
when  we  hear  that  you  have  given  this  little  flower  to 
Christ." 

The  hospitality  of  the  Stewarts  was  unbounded.  A 
constant  succession  of  visitors  to  Lovedale, — mission- 
aries, educationalists,  statesmen, — found  an  unfailing 
welcome.  No  less  courteous  a  welcome  was  given  to 
the  native  who  came  to  the  kitchen  door,  bringing 
some  grievance  or  pitiful  story.  The  old  people  of 
the  Lovedale  location  were  his  special  charge.  Every 
Sunday  there  was  a  dinner-party  of  old  men  at  the 
house,*  and  if  any  were  too  feeble  to  come  for  it,  the 
meal  was  sent  to  them.  His  friends  used  to  say  that 
''great  as  he  was  in  action,  he  was  greater  still  in 
sympathy." 

One  of  his  staff  tells  the  following  story:  "An  old 


136    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

native  man  was  living  under  the  trees  at  Lovedale. 
He  was  a  leper,  cast  out  by  his  family,  and  almost 
starving.  Dr.  Stewart  had  a  little  hut  built  for  him, 
and  sent  him  food  daily  from  his  own  house.  The 
hut  was  was  carried  away  by  a  flood.  Dr.  Stewart 
took  a  truck,  put  the  old  man  on  it,  and  with  the  aid 
of  a  boy  carried  him  to  an  outhouse  near  his  own,  where 
he  lived  for  several  years.  He  was  a  heathen,  but 
either  Dr.  Stewart  or  a  native  student  read  and  prayed 
with  him  almost  daily.  Light  dawned  on  his  soul.  I 
used  to  hear  him  pray  every  night." 

Lovedale  was  so  conspicuous  a  success  that  it 
naturally  became  a  target  for  the  critic  of  missions. 
Solemn  warnings  were  given  against  the  employment 
of  Lovedale  boys,  who  were  declared  to  be  raw  Kafirs 
spoiled  by  education.  The  industrial  side  of  the  work 
especially  was  the  object  of  bitter  attack  by  those  who 
wished  to  reserve  all  skilled  labour  to  the  white  man. 
Dr.  Stewart  was  therefore  compelled  to  become  the 
defender  of  his  own  system  and  the  champion  of  native 
education.  His  defence  was  characteristically  thorough 
and  effective.  In  1887  he  published  Lovedale  Past  and 
Present,  in  which  he  gave  the  record  of  over  2000 
natives  who  had  passed  through  the  Institution.  Of 
these  36  had  become  preachers,  409  teachers,  6  lawyers, 
3  journalists,  26  telegraphists,  while  the  rest  were 
employed  in  various  trades  or  in  farming.  Only  three 
per  cent  had  been  brought  before  the  magistrate  for 
breaking  the  law.  ''Can  Oxford  do  better  than  that?" 
Dr.  Stewart  was  wont  to  say.  In  the  year  1900  the 
record  was  brought  up  to  date  and  again  published. 
It  then  contained  6640  names,  of  whom  preachers  and 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  137 

teachers  numbered  880,  farmers  385,  tradesmen  352, 
Government  clerks  112,  in  railway  and  police  work  86, 
while  about  1000  were  employed  at  the  mines.  It  was 
a  triumphant  vindication  of  Lovedale.  Dr.  Stewart 
could  truly  say,  ''But  for  the  education  received  here 
and  the  previous  labours  of  the  missionaries  who  sent 
them  to  Lovedale,  they  would  have  been  unable  to 
distinguish  the  top  of  a  printed  page  from  the  bottom, 
unable  to  use  a  single  tool,  unable  even  to  use  that  com- 
plicated instrument  called  a  spade,  as  anyone  may 
satisfy  himself  if  he  sends  a  raw  native  to  dig  in  his 
garden.  They  have  been  dragged  out  of  the  abyss  of 
ignorance  and  entire  want  of  manual  skill  by  the  oppor- 
tunities they  have  had  in  this  and  similar  places." 

Happily  Dr.  Stewart  lived  to  see  in  1905  the  publica- 
tion of  an  authoritative  pronouncement  in  favour  of 
native  education  by  the  African  Native  Affairs  Com- 
mission. After  an  exhaustive  inquiry  they  unanimously 
declared,  ''that  the  natives  must  be  educated  and  civil- 
ised, that  the  only  people  who  have  tried  to  elevate 
them  are  the  missionaries  and  some  Christian  families, 
and  that  the  hope  of  their  elevation  must  depend  mainly 
on  their  acceptance  of  the  Christian  faith  and  morals." 

VII :  The  Founding  of  Kikuyu 

In  ^iSqi  Dr.  Stewart  was  called  to  another  big 
pioneering  adventure,  this  time  in  British  East  Africa. 
Sir  William  Mackinnon  and  other  friends,  having  sub- 
scribed money  for  an  East  African  mission,  asked  Dr. 
Stewart  to  organise  and  establish  it.  He  was  at  home 
on  furlough,  and  now  sixty-one  years  of  age,  but  he 


138    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

responded  to  the  call  with  the  ardour  of  youth.  Pro- 
ceeding to  Mombasa  he  organised  a  caravan  and  led 
it  200  miles  up  country,  toiling  through  the  Taro  Desert 
till  they  reached  the  higher  ground  north  of  Kilima 
Njaro,  where  the  mission  was  successfully  established. 
It  is  now  familiarly  known  as  the  Kikuyu  mission  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland.  Dr.  Stewart's  exertions  on 
this  occasion  appear  extraordinary  for  a  man  of  his 
age.  ''It  is  safe  to  say,"  a  colleague  at  the  Institution 
wrote,  "that  during  the  thirteen  days  he  spent  at  Love- 
dale  when  about  to  pioneer  the  East  African  Mission, 
he  did  not  sleep  thirty  hours.  When  the  dawn  was 
breaking  you  could  still  see  a  light  in  his  room."  On 
the  march  he  had  to  urge  the  parched  and  weary  car- 
riers forward,  yet  he  was  the  only  one  in  the  party 
^untouched  by  sickness  and  unmarked  by  fatigue/  " 

VIII :  'Without  Were  Fightings" 

The  last  decade  of  Dr.  Stewart's  life  was  crowded 
with  labours  and  troubles  to  an  unusual  degree.  To- 
wards the  close  of  the  century  the  Ethiopian  movement 
wrought  wide-spread  havoc  in  the  mission  churches  of 
South  Africa.  It  had  for  its  aim  the  establishing  of 
a  native  church  wholly  independent  of  white  control, 
but  the  movement  was  vitiated  by  race  feeling  and 
empty  vanity.  It  did  not  touch  Lovedale  till  1898, 
when  Mzimba,  the  pastor  of  the  native  church,  an  old 
pupil  and  friend  of  Dr.  Stewart,  seceded  without  warn- 
ing, taking  with  him  two-thirds  of  his  congregation 
and  £1300  of  church  money.  How  little  cause  Mzimba 
had  to  complain  of  his  old  teacher  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  once  when  travelling  together,  on 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  139 

coming  to  an  inn,  Dr.  Stewart  insisted  that,  unless 
accommodation  were  found  for  Mzimba,  he  himself 
would  sleep  in  the  barn  and  let  his  native  friend  occupy 
his  bedroom.  The  treachery  of  Mzimba,  for  it  was 
no  less,  cut  Dr.  Stewart  to  the  heart.  All  attempts  at 
conciliation  having*  failed,  the  Presbytery  had  to  appeal 
to  the  law  courts,  and  Mzimba  was  ordered  to  restore 
the  money  he  had  appropriated.  The  lawyer  who  con- 
ducted the  case  wrote  afterwards,  "Dr.  Stewart  was 
never  the  same  man  again.  That  bitter  time  left  a 
scar  upon  his  heart  that  I  believe  he  felt  each  day 
until  he  died." 

Another  event  which  brought  a  dark  cloud  was 
the  outbreak  of  the  Boer  War.  Dr.  Stewart  had  all 
his  life  kept  himself  free  from  party  politics,  but  on 
this  occasion  he  felt  compelled  to  enter  the  arena.  He 
believed,  as  did  all  missionaries  in  South  Africa,  that 
Kruger's  Government  was  the  enemy  of  native  rights. 
He  had  sufficient  evidence  of  his  own  to  confirm  the 
weighty  verdict  of  Moffat  and  Livingstone  and  Mac- 
kenzie. He  felt,  therefore,  that  he  ought  not  to  be 
silent,  especially  as  some  Boer  ministers  had  addressed 
a  partisan  appeal  to  the  Churches  of  Britain.  Accord- 
ingly he  threw  himself  into  the  conflict  in  his  own 
swift -and  impulsive  way.  It  was  the  welfare  of  the 
natives  that  he  had  chiefly  in  view,  but  that  seemed 
to  many  a  negligible  element  in  the  historic  struggle 
between  Boer  and  Briton.  It  was  a  time  of  great 
political  bitterness,  and  Dr.  Stewart  was  deeply  grieved 
to  find  that  his  action  not  only  lost  him  the  friendship 
of  many  of  the  Dutch  for  whom  he  cherished  a  warm 
regard,  but  also  alienated  some  of  his  friends  at  home. 


140    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

In  1899,  the  year  preceding  the  Church  Union  in 
Scotland,  Dr.  Stewart  was  called  to  be  Moderator  of 
the  Free  Church,  the  first  African  missionary  who  had 
occupied  that  honourable  position.  In  1902  he  was 
back  in  Scotland  delivering  the  Duff  lectures  on  mis- 
sions, which  were  published  the  following  year  under 
the  title  of  Dawn  in  the  Dark  Continent.  After  a  visit 
to  America  he  returned  to  Lovedale  in  1904  and  told 
the  students,  who  met  him  with  royal  welcome,  that  he 
had  come  home  to  stay.  Signs  had  appeared  of  heart 
weakness  through  overstrain,  and  he  knew  that  the 
end  of  the  journey  could  not  be  far  off. 

Nineteen  hundred  and  five  w^as  the  last  year  of  his 
life,  and  it  brought  a  fresh  trouble  of  an  alarming  kind. 
The  decision  of  the  Scottish  Church  case  having  gone 
in  favour  of  the  Wee  Frees,  Mzimba,  with  the  most 
complete  effrontery,  represented  himself  as  an  oppo- 
nent of  the  Union,  and  put  in  a  claim  for  Lovedale! 
Nobody  knew  better  than  the  Wee  Frees  that  Mzimba's 
case  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  Union,  they  had  them- 
selves voted  against  him  in  the  Free  Church  General 
Assembly,  but  now  they  warmly  took  his  side  and 
supported  his  claim.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
more  disgraceful  compact.  Extensions  were  in  prog- 
ress at  Lovedale,  but  everything  was  brought  to  a 
stand,  and  Dr.  Stewart  was  faced  with  the  prospect 
of  seeing  the  noble  fruit  of  his  lifework  snatched  from 
his  hand  and  given  to  those  who  could  not  possibly 
make  use  of  it.  Fortunately  the  Court  dismissed 
Mzimba's  claim  with  the  contempt  it  deserved.  But 
the  burden  and  anxiety  of  these  last  months  hastened 
the  end. 


STEWART  OF  LOVEDALE  14!l 

IX :  "God  is  Not  Dead'' 

He  died  on  December  21,  1905,  in  his  75th  year, — 
"our  grand  old  man  of  Lovedale  and  of  the  Empire," 
as  the  Cape  Times  described  him.  He  was  buried  on 
Christmas  Day  on  the  summit  of  Sandili's  Kop,  a 
prominent  hill  overlooking  the  Institution.  The  feel- 
ings of  the  natives  were  touchingly  expressed  in  an 
address  to  Mrs.  Stewart,  ''The  friend  of  the  natives  is 
gone.  To-day  we  are  orphans.  To-day  we  have  no 
present  help.  The  wings  which  were  stretched  over 
us  are  folded,  the  hands  which  were  stretched  out  in 
aid  of  the  native  are  resting.  The  eye  which  watched  all 
danger  is  sleeping  to-day,  the  voice  which  was  raised  in 
our  behalf  is  still,  and  we  are  left  sorrowful,  amazed, 
troubled.  But  in  our  sorrow  we  say,  'God  is  not  dead.'  " 

His  thoughts  were  given  to  Africa  to  the  last.  "I 
wish,"  he  said  to  his  native  secretary  as  he  bade  him 
farewell,  "I  wish  I  could  have  done  more  for  your 
people  and  for  Africa."  But  he  had  done  much.  With- 
in a  week  of  his  death  a  Native  Convention  met  at 
Lovedale  to  consider  the  question  of  establishing  a 
Native  College  for  South  Africa.  Dr.  Stewart's  last 
days  were  spent  in  making  preparations  for  the  Con- 
vention, which  he  regarded  as  in  some  measure  the 
crowning  of  his  lifework.  The  Convention  opened 
with  a  memorial  service  at  his  grave,  and  thereafter 
it  was  resolved  to  urge  the  Colonial  Governments  to 
establish  a  central  native  university  at  Lovedale,  to 
the  support  of  which  the  natives  pledged  themselves 
to  raise  £50,000.  Well  might  it  be  said  of  Dr.  Stewart 
that  he  was  ''felix  opportunitate  mortis,  favoured  in  the 
moment  and  manner  of  his  death." 


CHAPTER  VI 

LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA 

I :  Henry  Drummond's  Hero 

One  midsummer  evening  in  1892  Prof.  Henry 
Drummond  presided  over  a  meeting  of  Edinburgh  stu- 
dents in  the  Oddfellows'  Hall.  In  introducing  the 
speaker  he  declared  that  **no  man  in  Europe  was  better 
worth  listening  to."  He  was  the  first  man  to  place  a 
steamer  on  a  Central  African  lake,  "and  I  have  often 
wondered  what  his  feelings  were  as  his  vessel  ploughed 
the  virgin  waters  of  the  Lake."  With  moving  elo- 
quence Drummond  spoke  of  the  glory  of  the  work, 
carried  on  for  nearly  twenty  years  ''in  a  beastly  climate." 
The  speaker  rose,  a  rugged,  burly  form,  in  striking 
contast  to  the  elegant  figure  and  delicate  complexion 
of  the  Professor.  Plainly  he  did  not  recognise  the 
pen-portrait  of  himself  that  had  been  drawn.  One 
had  no  time  to  think  of  the  glory  of  the  work,  he  said, 
it  was  just  a  case  of  pegging  away  in  one's  shirt 
sleeves  from  day  to  day.  As  for  the  climate,  well — 
(with  a  dry  smile  breaking  over  his  face,  and  pointing 
at  Drummond  with  his  thumb)  "Look  at  him  and  look 
at  me,  and  judge  for  yourselves." 

Then  he  began  to  talk,  not  with  eloquence  or  fluency, 
but  the  plain,  downright  talk  of  a  strong  man.     On 

142 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  143 

and  on  it  flowed,  till  the  daylight  faded  and  faces 
were  lost  in  the  gloom.  Then  he  abruptly  stopped 
and  apologised  almost  abjectly  for  having  kept  the 
meeting  so  long.  It  was  Laws  of  Livingstonia,  who 
since  then  has  added  another  thirty  years  to  his  record 
of  service,  and  has  seen  and  done  more  wonderful 
things  than,  perhaps,  any  other  living  man. 

II :  Dedicated  from  Birth 

Robert  Laws  was  born  in  Aberdeen  on  May  28, 
1 85 1.  He  was  an  only  child,  and,  his  mother  having 
died  when  he  was  but  two^  years  old,  he  was  brought 
up  by  a  somewhat  stern  step-mother,  who  neverthe- 
less cherished  a  warm  affection  for  the  boy.  His  father 
was  a  cabinet-maker,  a  devout  man  whose  early  ambi- 
tion of  being  a  missionary  had  been  frustrated,  and 
who  now  dedicated  his  son  from  birth  to  the  foreign 
field.  Between  father  and  son  there  was,  in  this  as 
in  other  things,  the  most  perfect  sympathy.  The  boy's 
imagination  was  fired  by  reading  Livingstone's  Travels, 
and  the  secret  prayer  of  his  heart  was,  *'0  God,  send 
me  to  the  Makololo."  Years  afterwards  he  remembered 
that  prayer  when  he  met  some  of  Livingstone's  Mako- 
lolo  in  the  Shire  Highlands  and  received  their  help  in 
carrying  the  Ilala  past  the  Murchison  Cataracts. 

Owing  to  the  straitened  circumstances  of  the  family 
his  v^ay  -did  not  immediately  open  up,  and  he  was 
apprenticed  as  a  cabinetmaker.  Even  after  he  went 
to  college  he  continued  to  work  at  his  trade.  His  old 
shopmates  he  never  forgot,  and  he  used  to  visit  some 
of  them  whenever  he  returned  to  Aberdeen.    And  they 


144.    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

appreciated  the  man  and  his  work.  One  of  them  as 
he  lay  dying  said  to  his  wife,  ''Send  all  my  tools  out 
to  Dr.  Laws." 

The  story  of  his  early  struggles  bears  a  remarkable 
resemblance  to  that  of  David  Livingstone,  his  hero  and 
predecessor,  in  the  same  long  hours  of  manual  labour, 
followed  by  evening  classes  and  night  study.  By  the 
aid  of  a  small  bursary  he  was  at  length  able  to  enter 
the  University.  The  curriculum  he  planned  was  char- 
acteristically arduous  and  thorough.  It  was,  by  dove- 
tailing the  classes,  to  take  a  complete  course  in  Arts, 
Medicine,  and  Divinity  in  seven  years.  By  sheer  hard 
work  and  tireless  plodding  he  carried  it  through. 

During  the  winter  of  1871,  when  worn  down  by  his 
studies,  he  contracted  smallpox  and  lay  for  weeks  in 
a  hospital  at  death's  door.  This  illness  had  a  curious 
sequel,  for  two  years  after,  on  applying  for  work 
under  the  Glasgow  City  Mission,  he  was  appointed 
missionary  to  the  Smallpox  Hospital,  a  post  which  no 
one  else  could  be  found  to  undertake.  Here  he  passed 
through  a  strenuous  period  of  service,  for  an  epidemic 
was  raging  in  the  city  and  the  hospital  was  over- 
crowded. The  Directors  speak  of  his  "praise-worthy 
devotion,"  but  he  had  to  live  a  sort  of  hermit  life, 
shunned  by  most  as  a  leper.  One  day  at  the  end  of 
May,  1874,  he  read  in  the  Glasgow  Herald  a  report  of 
Dr.  Stewart's  proposal  to  the  Free  Church  Assembly  to 
found  a  mission  in  Central  Africa  as  a  memorial  to 
David  Livingstone.  Instantly  the  conviction  flashed 
through  his  mind,  "This  is  the  work  I  have  been  prepar- 
ing for  all  my  life."  Some  months  later  he  met  Dr. 
Stewart  who,  on  his  part,  said,  "This  is  my  man  if  I 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  145 

can  get  him."  Laws  felt  himself  honour-bound  to  his 
own,  the  United  Presbyterian,  Church.  The  difficulty, 
however,  was  speedily  overcome  by  that  Church  lending 
him  to  the  new  mission,  while  one  of  its  Edinburgh 
congregations  agreed  to  pay  his  salary  for  five  years 
at  least.  It  was  a  noble  loan,  never  recalled,  and  a 
happy  augury  of  the  time  when  the  two  Churches  would 
be  joined  in  one. 

The  winter  of  1874  was  a  busy  time,  for  Laws  had 
to  pass  his  finals  in  Medicine  and  Divinity,  besides 
helping  in  the  preparations  for  the  new  mission.  In 
April,  1875,  he  took  his  degree  in  Medicine  and  was 
ordained  to  the  ministry,  and  on  May  21st  he  sailed  for 
Africa. 

Ill :  Up  the  Zambesi  to  Lake  Nyasa 

The  original  mission  party  went  out  under  the  guid- 
ance of  Mr.  E.  D.  Young  of  the  Royal  Navy,  who  had 
aided  Livingstone  in  his  exploration  of  the  Zambesi. 
Besides  Laws  and  Young,  the  party  consisted  of  an 
engineer,  a  seaman,  an  agriculturist,  a  carpenter,  and 
a  blacksmith.  Accompanying  them  was  Mr.  Hender- 
son of  the  Church  of  Scotland  who  was  sent  out  to 
prospect  for  a  suitable  site  for  a  sister  mission.  Dr. 
Laws  has  long  survived  all  his  fellow  pioneers.  On 
the  roll  of  honour  of  the  Livingstonia  mission  his 
nam^  stands  first  and  is  followed  by  no  fewer  than 
thirty-three  names  of  fellow-workers,  all  of  whom  have 
passed  from  the  service  of  the  Mission.  Thirty-fifth 
on  the  list  appears  the  illustrious  name  of  Dr.  Elmslie, 
the  oldest  of  his  present  colleagues. 


146    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

On  July  23,  1875,  the  mission  party  landed  at  the 
Kongone  mouth  of  the  Zambesi.     Their  little  steamer, 
the  Ilala,  which  they  had  brought  out  in  parts,  was 
speedily  bolted  together  and  launched.     The  up-river 
voyage  proved  an  affair  of  great  toil  and  difficulty. 
Sandbanks  and  sudd  made  progress  slow,  while  croco- 
diles and  hippos  added  more  than  a  spice  of  danger. 
The  junction  of  the  Shire  and  the  Zambesi  was  hidden 
in  a  maze  of  sluggish  backwaters,  but  at  length  it  was 
discovered  and  the  Ilda  steamed  northward  for  the 
Lake.     Now,  however,  a  new  obstacle  intervened  in 
the  shape  of  sixty  miles  of  cataract,  where  the  river 
plunges  down  through  the  glens  of  the  Shire  Highlands. 
Fortunately    in    this    district    some    of    Livingstone's 
Makololo  had  established  themselves  in  authority,  and 
with   their    friendly    help    a  thousand    carriers    were 
assembled,   the  boat  was  carried  piecemeal  over  the 
hills,  rebuilt  and  launched  on  the  upper  Shire.     On 
October    12    at    daybreak    the    Ilala    sailed    into    the 
Lake,  the  first  steamer  to  appear  on  any  of  the  great 
inland  seas  of  Africa.     The   glorious  morning  sun, 
just  risen  above  the  rim  of  the  eastern  hills,  and  flood- 
ing the  surface  of  the  Lake  with  its  golden  rays,  seemed 
an  emblem  of  the  dawn  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness 
over  these  dark  regions.     As  the  prow  of  the  little 
steamer   cut   into  the  virgin  waters  the  •engine   was 
stopped  and  the  company  of  pioneers,  standing  together 
on  the  after  deck,  sang  the  Hundredth  Psalm.     The 
same  evening  a  landing  was  made  on  the  white  sandy 
beach  at  Cape  Maclear,  a  promontory  at  the  south 
end  of  the  Lake. 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  WT 

IV :  The  Beacon  at  Cape  Maclear 

Lake  Nyasa,  as  Dr.  Laws  discovered,  is  360  miles 
long  and  40  miles  broad  on  an  average.  It  is,  in  fact, 
a  gigantic  trench  running  north  and  south  among  the 
hills,  and  its  surface  is  1500  feet  above  sea  level.  The 
water  is  deep  blue,  the  surrounding  hills  rise  steeply 
from  the  shore,  and  near  the  south  end  especially  there 
are  exquisitely  beautiful  bays  and  inlets.  The  country 
lying  to  the  west  of  the  Lake  may  be  divided  into  four 
parallel  strips  which  also  run  north  and  south.  First 
there  is  the  Lake  shore;  second,  the  mountainous 
region  of  Ngoniland;  third,  the  broad  valley  of  tha 
Luangwa,  a  tributary  of  the  Zambesi,  and  fourth,  the 
great  plateau  which  forms  the  watershed  of  Central 
Africa,  beyond  which,  to  the  west,  lie  Lake  Bang- 
weolo  and  the  head  waters  of  the  Congo.  The  two 
mountain  ranges  bend  round  and  unite  at  the  north 
end  of  the  Luangwa  valley,  thus  forming  a  great 
horseshoe  of  hill  country.  This  was  the  region  now 
destined  to  become  famous  in  missionary  history  as 
Livingstonia. 

Darkest  Africa  was  in  those  days  no  poetic  name,  but 
a  most  gruesome  reality.  Besides  the  usual  horrors 
of  African  heathenism,  the  witch  doctor,  the  poison 
ordeal,  and  the  burial  of  the  living  with  the  dead, 
Nyasaland  suffered  from  the  two  scourges  of  tribal 
war  and  slave  raiding.  The  Angoni,  a  fierce  tribe  of 
Zulu  origin,  after  many  wanderings  had  settled  on 
the  plateau  above  the  Lake,  and  were  continually  at 
war  with  the  neighbouring  tribes.  Arab  slave  raiders 
from  Zanzibar  systematically  scoured  the  country,  and 


148    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

either  by  purchase  or  by  violence  secured  multitudes 
of  slaves,  whom  they  sent  down  to  the  coast.  There 
were  regular  slave  ferries  on  the  Lake,  at  Deep  Bay, 
Kota  Kota  and  other  convenient  points,  where  it  was 
estimated  that  40,000  slaves  were  shipped  across.  This 
nefarious  traffic,  more  even  than  the  Angoni  raids, 
impoverished  and  devastated  the  land.  These  were 
the  evils  which  had  wrung  from  Livingstone's  lips,  a 
few  years  before,  the  bitter  cry,  ''Blood,  blood,  every- 
where blood.'* 

Into  the  midst  of  this  hell  upon  earth  Dr.  Laws  and 
his  colleagues  came,  and  began  the  seemingly  hopeless 
task  of  changing  it  into  a  garden  of  God.  Temporary 
buildings  were  erected  and  a  beginning  made  in  acquir- 
ing the  language  and  teaching  the  natives  by  simple 
pictures.  It  was  painfully  slow  work.  The  natives 
at  first  could  not  even  see  a  picture.  'This  is  a  cow," 
said  the  Doctor,  pointing  to  the  page.  The  announce- 
ment was  received  with  shouts  of  derisive  laughter. 
*'But  it  is  a  cow.  See  its  head,  its  legs,  its  tail."  At 
last  a  precocious  youth  had  the  eyes  of  his  under- 
standing opened,  and  suddenly  leaping  body  high,  he 
exclaimed,  "It  is  a  cow.  I  see  it."  Such  was  the  dawn 
of  education  in  Nyasaland. 

The  Mission  party  had  received  orders,  out  of 
regard  for  the  spiritual  nature  of  their  work,  not  to 
embroil  themselves  with  the  marauding  tribes  or  the 
slave  raiders,  but  while  this  policy  was  strictly  adhered 
to,  the  Union  Jack  at  the  masthead  of  the  Ilala  had  for 
a  time  a  restraining  influence  on  the  Arabs,  and  the 
settlement  at  Cape  Maclear  became  a  city  of  refuge 
for  the  oppressed.     By  and  by  enemies  grew  bolder, 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  149 

threats  and  alarms  of  war  were  constant,  and  natives 
who  were  working  at  the  Mission  station  were  kid- 
napped. 

For  over  a  year  the  party -at  the  Lake  were  without 
news  of  the  outside  world.  Henderson  had  gone  south 
to  look  for  a  suitable  station  in  the  Shire  Highlands, 
and  lay  the  foundations  of  the  Blantyre  Mission  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland.  At  length,  in  October,  1876, 
news  arrived  of  the  approach  of  reinforcements  both 
for  Blantyre  and  Livingstonia.  At  the  head  of  the 
Livingstonia  party  was  Dr.  Stewart,  accompanied  by 
Dr.  Black,  a  young  medical  missionary  who  was  des- 
tined in  a  few  weeks  to  .fill  the  first  grave  at  Cape 
Maclear.  With  them  came  three  artisan  missionaries 
and  four  native  teachers  from  Lovedale,  the  most 
notable  of  whom  was  William  Koyi.  For  the  next 
eighteen  months  Dr.  Stewart  took  charge  of  the  mis- 
sion and  by  his  energy  and  experience  aided  greatly 
in  its  establishment. 

As  if  their  hands  were  not  full  enough  at  Cape 
Maclear,  an  urgent  appeal  for  help  came  from  Hen- 
derson in  December.  Blantyre  seemed  on  the  verge 
of  collapse.  The  Livingstonia  men  responded  to  the 
appeal  and,  taking  service  in  turns,  became  the  real 
founders  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  Mission.  It  was 
while  voyaging  on  the  lower  river,  bringing  up  Blantyre 
goods  from  the  coast,  that  Dr.  Laws  had  his  first 
serious  illness  and  was  brought  to  the  point  of  death. 
Lying  in  his  canoe,  drenched  with  rain  and  sweat,  sick 
and  vomiting,  sufifering  from  dysentery  and  tortured 
by  mosquitoes,  he  passed  "the  most  miserable  night 
of  his  life."    Days  of  delirium  followed,  but  he  pulled 


150    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

through  and  struggled  back  to  the  Lake  which  already 
he  felt  to  be  like  home. 

Dr.  Laws  had  circumnavigated  the  Lake  soon  after 
his  first  arrival,  but  Dr.  Stewart  and  he  now  made  a 
more  thorough  exploration  of  its  coasts.  They  agreed 
that  when  the  time  was  ripe  for  a  forward  movement 
from  Cape  Maclear  it  should  be  up  the  Lake  to  a 
point  somewhere  about  the  middle  of  its  western  side. 

Dr.  Stewart  left  for  Lovedale  in  December,  1877, 
and  henceforth  Dr.  Laws  was  in  full  charge  of  the 
Mission.  The  responsibility  was  no  light  one.  Already 
three  graves  had  been  dug  beneath  the  cliff  at  Cape 
Maclear.  The  Mission  was  an  isolated  outpost  in 
the  heart  of  heathenism,  cut  off  from  all  civilised  gov- 
ernment and  entirely  thrown  upon  its  own  resources. 
Not  the  least  difficult  of  the  problems  that  faced  the 
missionaries  was  how  to  maintain  discipline  among 
the  natives  at  the  station  and  protect  themselves  against 
malefactors.  At  Blantyre  the  missionaries  took  the 
administration  of  the  law  into  their  own  hands  with 
the  most  disastrous  results.  Dr.  Lav/s,  with  more 
patience  and  prudence,  appealed  to  the  authority  of 
neighbouring  chiefs,  or  formed  a  court  of  headmen. 

Anxious  to  extend  his  knowledge  of  the  country,  he 
went  on  a  three  months'  journey  up  through  the  hills 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Lake,  and  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  southern  section  of  the  Angoni.  In  this 
expedition  he  was  greatly  aided  by  William  Koyi,  who 
found  that  the  Angoni  still  retained  enough  of  their 
ancestral  Zulu  speech  to  understand  him.  This  was 
a  piece  of  great  good  fortune  for  William  Koyi  was 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  151 

welcomed  as  a  fellow-tribesman,  and,  settling  soon 
after  in  Ngoniland,  he  was  honoured  of  God  to  break 
ground  there  for  the  Gospel.  Next  dry  season  Dr. 
Laws  made  a  journey  to  North  Ngoniland,  going  up 
the  Lake  to  Bandawe  and  striking  inland  to  the  hills. 
Here  he  met  Mombera,  the  paramount  chief  of  the 
Angoni,  and  held  friendly  conference  with  that  savage 
potentate.  Mombera  was  not  unfavourable  to  having 
a  white  man  in  his  country,  but  he  demanded  that  Dr. 
Laws  should  have  no  dealing  with  his  enemies  at  the 
Lake  shore.  This  of  course  could  not  be  agreed  to, 
and  for  long  it  continued  to  be  a  grievance  with  the 
Angoni. 

In  1879  Dr.  Laws  journeyed  down  to  the  coast  and 
sailed  for  East  London  with  the  pleasant  expectation 
of  meeting  his  bride.  While  waiting,  he  paid  a  visit 
to  Lovedale  to  study  the  methods  of  native  education 
there,  and  when  he  left  the  Colony  he  took  with  him 
about  £30  in  small  change  in  the  hope  of  inducing  the 
natives  of  Nyasaland  to  use  English  money.  Learning 
that  his  bride  had  come  out  by  the  east  coast  he  hurried 
back  to  the  Zambesi,  only  to  find  that  she  had  already 
started  up  the  river.  He  followed,  with  such  speed 
as  may  be  imagined,  and  overtook  the  lady  at  Blantyre 
where  they  were  happily  married.  Mrs.  Laws  was 
the  first  white  lady  to  live  at  Lake  Nyasa,  and  for 
forty-two  years,  with  incomparable  courage  and  endur- 
ance, she  braved  storm  and  shine  by  her  husband's 
side,  till  in  the  autumn  of  1921  she  was  laid  to  rest 
beside  Old  Machar  Cathedral  in  her  native  city  of 
Aberdeen. 


152    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

V :  Over  the  Graces  of  the  Fallen 

Amid  many  difficulties  and  dangers  the  work  at 
Cape  Maclear  went  steadily  on,  but  six  long  years 
passed  ere  the  first  convert  was  baptised.  These  years 
were  a  supreme  trial  to  faith,  for  besides  other  discour- 
agements there  was  much  sickness,  and  four  of  the 
missionaries  died.  Cape  Maclear  had  never  been 
regarded  as  the  permanent  home  of  the  Mission.  It 
was  not  more  unhealthy,  perhaps,  than  any  similar  site 
on  the  Lake  shore,  but  it  was  not  central,  and  the  pres- 
ence of  the  tsetse  fly  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
made  agricultural  development  impossible.  Accord- 
ingly a  new  site  was  chosen  at  Bandawe,  half  way  up 
the  west  side  of  the  Lake,  and  here  the  Mission  settled 
in  1881. 

This  removal  has  been  touchingly  depicted  as  a 
tragedy  and  a  defeat.  Travellers  who  came  expecting 
to  find  a  hive  of  industry  found  Cape  Maclear  a  place 
of  graves  and  read  in  them  disaster.  No  such  feeling 
was  in  the  heart  of  the  great  pioneer.  To  him  Bandawe 
marked  a  big  advance.  Six  months  before  the  removal 
the  first  fruits  of  Darkest  Africa  had  been  reaped.  The 
event  is  thus  recorded  in  the  Mission  Journal :  ^'Sab- 
bath, March  2/th. — This  is  a  red-letter  day  in  the 
history  of  the  Livingstonia  Mission.  By  the  blessing 
of  God  the  work  of  the  past  years  has  not  been  for 
naught,  nor  has  He  suffered  His  word  to  fail.  For 
long  we  here  have  been  seeing  the  working  of  God's 
word  in  the  hearts  of  not  a  few,  and  now,  by  God's 
grace,  one  has  been  enabled  to  seek  baptism  as  a  public 
confession  of  his  faith  in  Jesus  Christ."     The  convert 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  153 

referred  to  was  Albert  Namalambe,  who  continued  to 
carry  on  the  work  at  Cape  Maclear  till  it  was  taken 
over  by  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  which  has  now 
a  mission  in  Nyasaland. 

In  the  year  of  the  removal  to  Bandawe  another 
event  of  a  different  sort  greatly  widened  the  horizon  of 
the  Mission.  This  was  the  construction  of  the  Ste- 
venson Road.  From  the  first  Dr.  Laws  had  been 
anxious  to  develop  legitimate  commerce  as  an  antidote 
to  the  slave  trade^  and  accordingly  the  African  Lakes 
Corporation,  formed  three  years  previously  to  aid  the 
Mission  by  opening  up  the  country  and  developing  its 
resources,  had  begun  to  make  its  presence  beneficially 
felt  in  Nyasaland.  One  of  its  promoters,  Mr.  James 
Stevenson,  offered  £4000  for  the  construction  of  a 
road  from  the  north  end  of  Lake  Nyasa  to  the  south 
end  of  Lake  Tanganyika,  one  condition  being  that  a 
mission  station  should  be  planted  on  this  highway  into 
the  far  interior.  The  offer  was  gratefully  accepted, 
and  within  a  year  of  the  removal  to  Bandawe,  a  new 
station  was  opened  at  Iwanda,  on  the  line  of  the  Steven- 
son Road.  It  was  characteristic  of  the  indomitable 
spirit  of  Dr.  Laws  thus  to  sound  an  advance  over  the 
graves  of  the  fallen,  and,  as  the  conflict  thickened 
round  him,  to  have  only  the  one  desire,  to  ''engage  the 
enemy  more  closely." 

VI :  Toil  and  Trial  at  Bandawe 

The  years  spent  at  Bandawe  from  1881  to  1891  were 
a  period  of  tremendous  strain,  under  which  many  noble 
workers  broke  down.  Some  died  in  harness,  others 
were  invalided  home,  until  at  length  Dr.  Laws  was  left 


154    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

alone  of  all  who  had  laboured  at  Cape  Maclean  The 
ranks  of  the  mission  were  kept  steadily  filled  by  fresh 
volunteers  from  home,  chief  of  whom  may  be  men- 
tioned Dr.  Elmslie  who  came  out  in  1885,  and  was 
honoured  of  God  to  become  the  Apostle  of  Ngoniland. 

Bandawe  had  been  chosen  as  the  Mission  centre 
because  here  the  hills  sweep  back  from  the  Lake,  leaving 
a  wide  flat,  which  is  thickly  covered  by  the  villages  of 
the  Atonga.  These  unhappy  people,  like  all  the  dwellers 
on  the  Lake  'shore,  were  continually  harassed  by  the 
wild  Angoni  raiders  from  the  hills.  So  desperate  was 
their  condition  that  their  villages  were  hidden  in  the 
•most  secret  and  inaccessible  places,  or  built  on  piles 
driven  into  the  Lake.  Sir  H.  H.  Johnston,  the  British 
Commissioner,  reported  to  the  Foreign  Office  in  1894 
that,  ''but  for  the  intervention  of  the  Livingstonia  mis- 
sionaries, the  Atonga  would  have  been  almost  wiped 
.out  of  existence  by  the  raids  of  the  Angoni."  A  similar 
testimony  is  given  by  the  Atonga  themselves.  As  an 
old  chief  feelingly  expressed  it,  ''We  hoed  our  gardens 
in  the  strength  of  Dr.  Laws." 

It  was  only  by  an  extraordinary  display  of  courage 
and  tact  that  this  desperate  situation  was  remedied. 
For  years  Dr.  Laws  at  Bandawe  and  Dr.  Elmslie  up  in 
the  hills  were  more  or  less  in  daily  peril.  The  work 
of  evangelisation  was  heartbreakingly  slow.  In '1888 
Dr.  Laws  reported  that  "up  till  now  no  native  of  Ban- 
dawe or  the  district  has  yet  been  baptised,  though  one 
from  Cape  Maclear  was."  This  may  be  regarded  as 
the  darkest  hour  before  the  dawn,  for  about  this  time 
the  Mission  was  plunged  into  an  overwhelming  sea  of 
troubles. 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  155 

The  rainy  season  of  1886-87  ^^^  reaped  a  terrible 
harvest  of  death.  At  one  time  not  a  single  worker  in 
the  field  was  free  of  fever.  News  came  down  from 
Iwanda  that,  of  the  three  workers  there,  Dr.  Kerr  Cross 
was  prostrate  with  fever,  and  Mrs.  Cross  and  Mr. 
Mackintosh  were  dead.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Elmslie  were 
reported  ill  at  Njuyu.  At  Bandawe  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Laws  had  fever  and  their  baby  was  believed  to  be 
dying.  The  other  workers  on  the  station  were  in  no 
better  state.  Then,  as  if  the  place  were  a  public  hos- 
pital, two  hunters  stricken  down  with  fever  were  car- 
ried in.  About  the  same  time  a  boat  came  across  the 
Lake  from  Likoma,  where  the  Universities'  Mission 
had  now  established  themselves,  bringing  an  invalid, 
Rev.  G.  H.  Swinny,  for  medical  care.  Dr.  Laws,  with 
a  temperature  over  100°  and  hardly  able  to  keep  on  his 
feet,  tended  the  sick,  and  with  his  own  hands  made 
coffins  for  the  dead. 

*'You  are  nearing  home,"  he  said  gently  to  Mr. 
Swinny. 

''Yes,  Doctor,  I  know.  It  is  the  land  I  have  long 
desired.  Will  it  be  convenient  for  you  to  bury  me 
to-morrow?" 

Convenient!  What  a  world  of  Christian  faith  and 
hope  and  charity  in  that  one  word.  Such  is  the  spirit 
of  the  Church's  pioneers,  such  the  price  at  which  the 
heathen  world  is  won.  ''These  lonely  nights  of  watch- 
ing on  the  Lake,"  said  Dr.  Laws,  "have  burned  them- 
selves forever  into  my  heart." 

In  1887  the  Ngoni  peril  became  so  acute  that  most 
of  the  Mission  property  at  Bandawe  was  shipped  to 
Cape  Maclear.    Dr.  Elmslie  buried  his  medicines  under 


156    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

the  floor  of  his  house  at  Njuyu,  and  the  missionaries 
held  themselves  ready  to  escape  at  a  moment's  notice. 
Had  it  come  to  the  worst  escape  would  have  been  well- 
nigh  hopeless.  Even  at  Bandawe  armed  guards  were 
posted  between  the  mission  houses  and  the  beach  to 
cut  off  retreat.  One  never-to-be-forgotten  night,  when 
sleep  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  Dr.  Laws,  peering 
anxiously  out,  could  see  the  dim  figures  of  these  savage 
sentinels,  and  then  he  heard  in  the  next  room  his  wife 
pacing  the  floor  with  her  baby  in  her  arms,  and  softly 
singing  ''The  Lord's  My  Shepherd."  It  sounded  like 
the  voice  of  an  angel,  and  filled  his  heart  with  the 
peace  of  God. 

In  that  year  also  there  came  a  big  revival  of  the 
slave  trade.  It  was  occasioned  by  the  appearance,  at 
the  north  end  of  the  Lake,  of  Mlozi,  the  most  formid- 
able of  all  the  slave  raiders,  who  entrenched  himself 
near  Karonga,  cut  the  Stevenson  Road  below  Iwanda, 
and  harried  the  whole  surrounding  country.  He  waged 
war  on  the  African  Lakes  Corporation,  and,  in  spite 
of  their  heroic  defence  of  Karonga,  he  seemed  likely 
to  succeed  in  his  declared  intention  of  clearing  the 
white  man  out  of  the  country.  One  horrible  scene 
was  enacted  near  a  lagoon  to  the  north  of  Karonga. 
The  fugitive  Wankonde  having  taken  refuge  in  the 
tall  reeds  and  grass  by  the  Lake  shore,  Mlozi's  men 
set  fire  to  the  reeds  and  burned  them  out.  Those  who 
fled  the  flames  were  shot  or  speared,  while  those  who 
plunged  into  the  water  fell  a  prey  to  the  crocodiles  which 
had  swarmed  to  the  horrid  feast.  Captain  (afterwards 
Sir  Fred. )  Lugard  took  part  in  the  fighting  with  Mlozi, 
of  which  he  has  given  a  full  account  in  his  Rise  of  Our 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  157 

East  African  Empire.  Being  shot  through  both  arms 
he  spent  some  weeks  of  convalescence  at  Bandawe. 
Many  years  afterwards  he  wrote,  ''I  have  seen  many 
missions  since  those  days  on  Lake  Nyasa,  but  yours 
remains  my  ideal  mission,  because  it  is  so  free  from 
ostentation,  and  carries  out  so  effective  and  thorough 
a  work  on  such  sound,  practical  lines." 

To  crown  these  troubles,  in  the  same  dark  year  the 
Portuguese  asserted  a  claim  to  the  whole  of  Nyasa- 
land,  closed  the  Zambesi  waterway,  and  sent  an  army 
of  conquest  up  the  Shire.  The  Mission  was  thus  in 
the  position  of  an  army  attacked  in  front  and  flank 
and  suddenly  finding  its  line- of  communications  cut.  It 
was  a  crisis  to  test  the  stoutest  heart,  but  Dr.  Laws 
never  flinched  nor  had  any  thought  but  of  holding  out 
to  the  last. 

The  crisis  passed,  and  in  a  marvellously  short  time 
a  complete  change  became  visible  in  Nyasaland.  God's 
hand  turned  darkness  into  dawn.  The  solid  phalanx 
of  heathenism  began  to  show  signs  of  breaking  up,  the 
forces  of  the  Gospel  triumphed  in  Ngoniland,  and  in 
1890  there  came  a  season  of  rich  blessing  there.  Vast 
multitudes  assembled,  not  now  to  plan  a  bloody  raid, 
but  to  hear  the  message  of  peace.  They  who  before 
were  the  terror  of  the  country,  the  Prussians  of  Nyasa- 
land, became  the  sweet  singers  of  Central  Africa.  The 
very  war-song  they  were  wont  to  sing  when  they  sent 
round'  the  fiery  cross  among  the  tribesmen  was  now 
set  to  Gospel  words  which  summon  fathers  and  sons 
to  the  banner  of  Christ. 

Then  Britain,  roused  at  last  by  the  urgent  appeals 
of  the  Home  Church,  sent  an  ultimatum  to  Portugal, 


158    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

and  in  1891  declared  a  protectorate  over  Nyasaland. 
This  sealed  the  slave  raiders'  doom,  and  the  inhuman 
traffic  was  finally  ended  in  1895,  when  Mlozi  was  tried 
and  hanged  for  his  many  crimes.  In  the  words  of 
the  old  chief  of  the  Wiwa,  "All  the  people  said,  *It  is 
good.'  " 

Ere  Dr.  Laws  left  Bandawe  in  1891  the  foundations 
of  a  Christian  Church  were  firmly  laid  there,  and  in 
the  following  year  his  successor  began  to  reap  an 
abundant  harvest  of  his  years  of  patient  sowing.  At 
a  Livingstone  Centenary  meeting  held  at  Bandawe, 
Vyamba,  a  venerable  tribesman,  told  how  Dr.  Laws 
at  first  had  said,  ''Yes,  war  is  thick  enough  about  you, 
but  it  will  not  last  for  ever.  You  pray  to  God  about  it 
and  see  what  happens.' 

"  *The  white  man  lies,'  said  we. 

"  *No,'  said  the  Doctor,  'it  is  not  lies.' 

"And  now,"  concluded  the  speaker  with  a  thrill  that 
went  through  his  audience,  "look  here  today.  My  heart 
warms.    Jesus  has  been  the  life  of  us." 

VII:  A  Marvellous  Transformation 

In  1 89 1  Dr.  Laws,  whose  health  had  been  causing 
grave  anxiety,  left  for  Scotland  in  obedience  to  a  per- 
emptory summons  from  the  Home  Committee.  On 
this  furlough  he  laid  before  the  Church  his  plans  for  an 
educational  institution  which  might  be  'to  Central 
Africa  what  Lovedale  was  to  South  Africa.  He 
travelled  extensively  in  America,  inspecting  technical 
and  agricultural  colleges  as  well  as  any  institutions  or 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  159 

works  where  new  and  helpful  ideas  were  likely  to  be 
picked  up.  Returning  to  Scotland  he  was  sent  as  a 
deputy  to  the  Calabar  Mission  in  Nigeria  to  report  on 
the  possibilities  of  a  training  institution  there.  While 
in  Calabar  he  received  a  strong  impression  of  the  dead- 
liness  of  the  west  coast  climate  and  of  the  heroism  of 
the  men  and  women  who  under  such  conditions  carried 
on  the  work.  One  of  his  fever  patients  was  the  famous 
Mary  Slessor.  ''It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at,"  he 
wrote,  "seeing  that  she  started  by  night  and  walked  to 
Creek  Town,  reached  it  at  5  a.m.  dripping  wet,  got 
a  change,  some  milk  she  needed,  and  was  away  in  a 
canoe  at  7  a.m."  On  the  i)asis  of  Dr.  Laws'  report 
the  Duke  Town  Institution  was  established  in  Calabar, 
and  continues  to  flourish. 

His  so-called  furlough  over.  Dr.  Laws  returned  to 
Nyasaland  in  1894,  taking  with  him  a  band  of  young 
and  valuable  recruits  for  the  Mission,  including  James 
Henderson,  now  Principal  of  Lovedale.  It  had  been 
agreed  by  the  Committee  before  he  left  that  he  should 
now  look  for  a  suitable  site  for  the  Institution  which 
he  had  planned,  and  which  was  to  bear,  by  preeminence, 
the  name  of  Livingstonia.  No  time  was  lost  in  set- 
ting about  the  work.  In  September  Dr.  Laws  and  Dr. 
Elmslie  went  prospecting  among  the  hills  towards  the 
north  end  of  the  Lake.  They  were  old  friends  and 
comrades  in  arms,  who  had  been  through  many  trials 
and  perils  together.  Next  to  their  religious  faith  the 
thing  that  had  sustained  them  was  their  sense  of  hu- 
mour. The  quiet  chuckle  of  Dr.  Laws  was  ever  ready 
to  bubble  up  in  response  to  the  great  ringing  laugh  of 
Dr.  Elmslie.     Once  it  marked  the  turning  point  in  a 


160    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

life  and  death  struggle.  Dr.  Laws  was  down  with 
fever  at  Bandawe  and  believed  himself  dying.  Dr. 
Elmslie  hurried  down  from  the  hills  to  his  help,  but  in 
spite  of  all  that  skill  and  care  could  do,  the  patient's 
strength  seemed  gone.  Dr.  Elmslie  commended  his 
soul  in  prayer  to  God,  then,  moved  by  a  sudden  im- 
pulse, gave  him  a  dig  in  the  ribs.  Dr.  Laws  responded 
with  a  laugh,  and  from  that  moment  began  to  recover. 

Travelling  northwards  they  made  a  thorough  ex- 
ploration of  the  hills  and  valleys  behind  Mt.  Waller. 
One  night  their  camp  was  attacked  by  several  lions,  one 
of  which  sprang  with  a  roar  on  Dr.  Laws'  tent  and 
tore  open  the  side.  Dr.  Elmslie,  awaking  suddenly  and 
seeing  the  great  rent,  thought  for  one  horrible  mo- 
ment that  the  lion  had  made  off  with  its  victim,  but  a 
shout  from  the  interior  of  the  tent  reassured  him.  As 
he  said  afterwards,  ''It  was  the  most  welcome  sound  I 
ever  heard." 

Mt.  Waller  is  a  bold,  altar-shaped  promontory  tower- 
ing above  Lake  Nyasa  towards  its  northern  end.  Near 
it,  there  is  a  little  plateau  with  a  precipitous  descent 
to  the  Lake,  and  richly  wooded  hills  rising  up  behind. 
Here  seemed  the  most  promising  site  for  the  Institu- 
tion. Two  streams,  the  Manchewe  and  the  Kazichi, 
pouring  over  the  cliff  in  cataracts  side  by  side,  gave 
assurance  of  an  abundant  water  supply.  Behind  the 
waterfalls  are  some  low  caves,  in  which  the  miser- 
able natives  were  found  to  be  hiding  through  fear  of 
the  Angoni.  Dr.  Laws  crept  in  on  his  hands  and  knees 
to  make  their  acquaintance.  Seeing  him  burrowing 
like  a  terrier  in  a  rabbit's  hole.  Dr.  Elmslie  announced 
with  mock  gravity,  "Dr.  Laws  looking  for  a  site  for 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  161 

the  Institution."     ''Well,"  was  the  retort,  "could  I  be 
in  a  better  attitude  than  on  my  knees?" 

It  would  be  difficult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  find  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  a  spot  where  so  dramatic  and 
beneficent  a  change  has  been  wrought  within  living 
memory.  On  the  summit  of  the  plateau,  immediately 
above  these  hidden  caves  and  dwellings,  the  Living- 
stonia  Institution  now  stands.  It  is  an  extraordinary 
achievement,  planted  there  in  the  heart  of  the  wilds. 
Savage  nature  surges  up  to  the  very  doors.  Around  it 
are  forests  and  jungle  where  lions  and  leopards,  ele- 
phants and  rhinos  freely  roam ;  some  thousands  of  feet 
below  glitters  the  blue  Lake,  whose  shores  are  the 
haunt  of  the  crocodile  and  hippopotamus.  But  on  the 
plateau  itself,  how  marvellous  a  transformation!  A 
road  has  been  built  from  the  Lake  shore  which,  twisting 
round  corners,  striding  across  ravines,  clinging  to  the 
very  face  of  the  cliff,  climbs  up  hand  over  hand  to  the 
top.  An  avenue,  planted  with  Mlanje  cedar,  runs 
along  the  summit,  leaving  space  for  a  line  of  buildings 
between  it  and  the  cliff  edge.  Here  are  the  school,  the 
hospital  and  the  teachers'  houses.  Opposite  are  the 
post-office  and  the  workshops,  where  engineering,  car- 
pentry, printing,  etc.,  are  taught.  Elsewhere  on  the 
plateau  are  to  be  found -a  farmsteading  and  meal-mill, 
a  saw-mill,  a  brickwork  and  a  pottery.  Through  the 
liberaHty  of  Lord  Overtoun,  a  lifelong  friend  of  Liv- 
ingstonia,  a  water  supply  has  been  brought  from  the 
hills  and  turbines  have  been  erected  at  the  falls  to  gen- 
erate electric  light  and  power  for  all  the  buildings.  To 
the  natives  it  was  a  crowning  evidence  of  the  white 


162    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

man's  magic  that  he  was  able  to  make  water  run  up- 
hill and  light  his  house  by  pressing  a  button. 

The  buildings  of  the  Institution  are  plain  in  the  ex- 
treme, but  the  plan  is  spacious,  leaving  room  for  fu- 
ture development.  Everywhere  there  is  evidence  of  a 
master  mind  with  far-sweeping  vision  and  profound 
faith  in  the  future.  One  finds  in  Dr.  Laws  a  mind 
capable  at  once  of  grasping  a  great  conception  and  of 
patiently  working  out  the  minutest  details.  Of  the  lat- 
ter quality  the  following  instance  may  perhaps  be  given. 
Entering  a  room  where  a  native  servant  had  laid  the 
mat  awry,  he  pounced  down  upon  it  and  put  it  straight. 
Then  looking  up  almost  bashfully,  he  said  in  half- 
humourous  self-defence,  "People  won't  believe  it,  but 
you  give  the  African  a  great  lift  when  you  teach  him 
just  to  put  things  straight."  Perhaps  no  fitter  descrip- 
tion could  be  given  of  his  own  life's  work  than  simply 
that — "teaching  the  African  to  put  things  straight." 
His  forty-odd  years  in  Central  Africa  have  been  largely 
occupied  with  trivial  duties,  yet  he  has  laboured  with 
immense  cumulative  effect  and  put  many  things  straight 
in  Nyasaland. 

Not  content  with  his  vast  achievements  he  dreams 
of  a  more  glorious  future.  Early  one  morning  he  led 
the  writer  into  a  thicket  on  the  highest  part  of  the 
plateau. 

"Here,"  he  said,  "is  the  site  of  the  Overtoun  Memo- 
rial Church,  where  the  clock  on  the  tower  will  be  seen 
for  miles  around." 

Then,  boring  deeper  into  the  thicket  and  standing 
up  to  the  knees  in  the  dewy  grass,  he  waved  his  hands 
towards  the  surrounding  trees,  saying,  "Here  is  the 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  163 

site  of  the  permanent  college  buildings,  and  this  is  the 
quadrangle." 

A  few  moments  later  he  emerged  from  the  thicket 
and,  standing  in  the  open,  looked  eastward  over  a  wide 
panorama  of  wooded  hills  and  valleys,  all  of  it  the 
property  of  the  Institution,  the  princely  gift  of  the 
British  South  Africa  Company. 

"The  Home  Committee,"  he  said,  ''were  very  reluc- 
tant to  be  saddled  with  all  this  land,  but  the  day  is  com- 
ing when  it  will  be  of  great  value.  You  know,"  he 
continued,  speaking  as  one  Aberdeen  student  to  another, 
''what  a  blessing  the  Aberdeen  University  bursaries 
have  been  to  the  poor  students  of  the  north  of  Scot- 
land. Where  did  the  funds  come  from?  Much  of 
it  from  lands  gifted  long  ago  to  the  University,  not 
of  great  value  at  the  time,  but  now  a  rich  endowment. 
So  will  it  be  with  these  lands.'* 

As  one  listened  one  could  foresee,  in  the  light  of  the 
old  man's  faith  and  vision,  the  Institution  becoming 
the  University  of  Central  Africa,  and  the  keen-minded 
lads  from  all  the  surrounding  tribes  flocking  up  to 
its  'bursary  competition. 

VIII :  The  Croimiing  Years 

The  years  from  1894  were  years  of  steady  expan- 
sion in  the  Mission.  The  opening  of  the  stations  at 
Karonga  and  Mwenzo  carried  the  field  of  operations  up 
to  the  frontier  of  German  East  Africa.  Kasungu 
and  Loudon  became  centres  of  activity  in  South  Ngoni- 
land,  from  which  the  country  was  evangelised  west- 
ward into  the  valley  of  the  Luangwa.     More  recently 


164    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

a  far  outpost  beyond  the  Luangwa  was  established  at 
Chitambo  among  the  people  where  Livingstone  died, 
while  from  Mwenzo  an  advance  was  made  southward 
along  the  Rhodesian  plateau  to  Chinsali,  near  the 
Lubwa  River. 

These  developments,  when  studied  geographically, 
reveal  a  strategy  Pauline  in  its  boldness.  The  advance 
was  not  made  timidly  from  village  to  village,  but  cen- 
tral positions  were  occupied  from  which  whole  tribes 
could  be  evangelised.  The  average  distance  between 
the  stations  was  seventy  to  a  hundred  miles,  and  round 
each  of  these  centres  there  was  gradually  formed  a  wide 
network  of  out-stations,  amounting  in  some  cases  to 
over  a  hundred.  This  steady  expansion  was  accom- 
panied by  a  bountiful  spiritual  harvest,  with  occasional 
tidal  waves  of  revival,  which  commanded  the  atten- 
tion of  the  whole  Christian  world,  and  made  Living- 
stonia  famous  as  one  of  the  most  wonderful  triumphs 
of  modern  missions. 

The  dominant  influence  of  the  Mission  in  Nyasaland 
may  be  gathered  from  an  important  political  event 
which  occurred  in  1904.  British  authority  had  been 
established  for  years  in  South  Nyasaland,  but  the 
Angoni  had  been  left  severely  alone,  that  nation  of  war- 
riors being  regarded  as  a  hornet's  nest,  not  to  be  lightly 
disturbed.  Meantime  the  Gospel  was  making  progress 
among  them,  and  there  was  a  growing  desire  to  be  in- 
corporated in  the  British  Empire.  Sir  Alfred  Sharpe, 
the  Governor  of  Nyasaland,  relied  implicitly  on  Dr. 
Laws'  advice,  and  the  event  justified  his  confidence. 
On  September  2  he  made  a  peaceful  entry  into  Ngoni- 
land,  accompanied  only  by  Lady  Sharpe  and  a  few  at- 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  165 

tendants,  and  after  friendly  conference  with  the  chiefs 
received  their  willing  allegiance.  Writing  to  Dr.  Laws 
of  this  remarkable  event  he  said,  ''I  was  surprised  to 
find  the  Chiefs  already  quite  prepared,  if  not  even 
glad,  to  accept  the  new  condition  of  affairs.  This  is 
undoubtedly  largely  due  to  the  influence  exercised 
by  your  people."  The  Angoni,  let  it  be  remembered, 
are  come  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Zulus  and  the  Mata- 
bele,  whose  contact  with  the  British  Empire  is  a  record 
of  costly  and  bloody  wars.  If  the  question  be  asked, 
^'Why  is  the  history  of  Ngoniland  so  different?"  there 
is  only  one  possible  answer — Livingstonia. 

In  1908  Dr.  Laws  was  called  home  to  be  Moderator 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  United  Free  Church. 
He  obeyed  with  some  reluctance,  for  court  functions 
and  ecclesiastical  ceremonial  were  not  in  his  line.  But 
when  he  took  the  chair  it  did  the  Church  good  to  see 
him,  this  weather-beaten  pioneer,  this  man  of  his  hands, 
and  to  hear  his  words,  so  straightforward  and  un- 
adorned. Speaking  to  the  young  missionaries  on  Con- 
secration Night,  he  said,  ''After  thirty-three  years  of 
a  rough  and  tumble  experience,  which  I  hope  it  will 
never  be  your  lot  to  know,  I  can  only  say  that  if  I  had 
my  choice,  and  even  knowing  what  was  before  me,  I 
would  go  forth  to-day  to  the  missionary  field."  Al- 
though busy  throughout  the  year  addressing  meetings 
up  and  down  the  country  and  discharging  the  duties 
of  his  office,  he  found  time  for  studies  at  Edinburgh 
University  in  bacteriology  and  tropical  diseases. 

Returning  to  Central  Africa  in  1909,  he  resumed  his 
labours  with  unflagging  zeal,  and  the  work  of  God 
prospered  in  his  hand.     In  19 14,  before  the  outbreak 


166    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

of  the  war,  the  report  of  Livingstonia  stated  that  there 
were  14  organised  congregations  with  741  out-stations, 
having  in  connection  with  them  a  Christian  community 
of  over  38,000  souls.  The  number  of  schools  was 
907,  and  of  scholars  almost  60,000.  Native  evangel- 
ists, elders  and  deacons  share  in  the  oversight  of  the 
congregations,  and  the  whole  is  organised  into  a  Pres- 
bytery which  forms,  with  Blantyre  Mission,  the  Church 
of  Central  Africa  Presbyterian.  That  these  many  thou- 
sands have  not  been  hastily  gathered  in,  without  due 
care  and  examination,  may  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that  every  candidate  must  spend,  four  years  under 
Christian  instruction,  must  learn  to  read,  and  finally 
must  receive  the  approval  of  the  native  elders  before 
admission  to  full  membership. 

In  May,  1914,  a  historic  assembly  met  in  Bandawe, 
the  mother  station  of  the  Mission.  It  was  the  occa- 
sion of  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Mission  Council 
and  Presbytery,  but  was  made  specially  memorable  by 
the  ordination  of  the  first  three  native  pastors.  The 
Council  and  Presbytery  met  daily  for  a  week  and  dis- 
cussed such  grave  questions  as  the  law  of  Christian 
marriage,  the  creed  and  government  of  the  Church,  and 
the  support  of  the  ministry.  Native  elders  took  their 
full  share  in  the  discussions,  and  appeared  to  realise 
the  responsibility  resting  on  them  to  lay  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Christian  social  order  of  the  future.  At 
the  ordination  service  the  spacious  church  was  crowded. 
Atonga  and  Angoni  mingled  in  their  thousands,  and  so 
vast  was  the  concourse  of  people  that  admission  to  the 
church  had  to  be  regulated  by  ticket.  Of  the  three 
pastors  to  be  ordained,  one  was  a  Tonga,  the  other 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  167 

two  Angoni.  All  three  were  men  fully  trained  and 
thoroughly  tested  by  years  of  faithful  service.  They 
knelt  down  side  by  side  and  Dr.  Laws  laid  his  hands 
on  them,  with  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery,  and  or- 
dained them,  once  mortal  foes,  now  to  be  brother  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  It  was  a  scene  which 
could  never  be  forgotten  by  those  who  were  privileged 
to  behold  it.  At  the  close  of  the  service  the  writer 
asked  Dr.  Laws  if  he  had  ever  dreamed  of  such  a  day 
as  this. 

*'Yes,"  he  replied  with  animation,  "I  knew  it  would 
come.     Never  in  the  darkest  day  did  I  doubt  it." 
*'But  did  you  expect  you-would  live  to  see  it?" 
He  smiled,  "Ah,  that  is  another  question." 
Not  often  is  a  heroic  life  so  gloriously  crowned. 
Well  might  he  have  sung  his  Nunc  Dimittis.     Forty 
long  years  before,  in  the  might  of  his  faith  and  cour- 
age, he  had  plunged  into  the  darkest  thicket  of  heath- 
enism, hewed  out  there  a  clearing,  and  planted  a  gar- 
den of  God.    Now  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place 
were  glad  for  him,  he  had  made  the  desert  to  rejoice 
and  blossom  as  the  rose. 

His  own  dominating  thought  has  ever  been  that 
God's  guiding  hand  is  signally  manifest  in  the  history 
of  the  Livingstonia  Mission.  As  he  wrote  in  1900, 
"Alike  in  the  time  and  circumstances  of  its  inception, 
through  the  years  of  preparation  and  seed  sowing,  on 
to  the  whitening  of  the  fields  and  the  beginning  of  a 
harvest  full  of  bountiful  promise,  the  goodness  and 
mercy  of  the  Lord  has  been  manifested.  So  to  Him 
we  ascribe  all  the  honour,  glory,  dominion  and  power, 
aicknowledging  Him  as  the  source  of  all  the  blessing  in 


168    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

which  we  now  rejoice,  while  with  humble  gratitude  we 
praise  Him  for  the  redemption  He  has  brought  to  many, 
and  is  still  bringing  to  other,  tribes  of  that  so  long 
benighted  land." 

IX :  The  Legacies  of  War 

When  the  world  war  broke  out  Livingstonia  was 
immediately  in  the  thick  of  it.  The  operations  of  the 
Mission  touched  the  hinterland  of  German  East  Africa 
along  the  whole  frontier  from  Karonga  to  Mwenzo. 
Indeed,  before  Germany  thrust  herself  into  that  re- 
gion of  Africa,  the  Mission  occupied  a  station  at  Ma- 
lindu,  which  was  abandoned  when  it  was  found  to  have 
come  under  German  rule.  The  drawing  of  the  fron- 
tier was  a  bitter  disappointment  to  all  who  had,  up 
till  then,  been  labouring  for  the  good  of  Nyasaland, 
for  it  cut  through  the  middle  of  tribes,  and  tore  away 
populous  districts  whose  sympathies  were  all  with 
Britain,  as  represented  by  Livingstonia  and  the  African 
Lakes  Corporation.  Even  on  this  remote  frontier 
Germany  was  prepared  for  war.  Mwenzo  had  to  be 
abandoned,  and  Karonga  was  only  saved  after  a  stiff 
fight. 

The  war  inevitably  disorganised  the  whole  work  of 
the  Mission.  Many  of  the  teachers  and  people  acted 
as  carriers  to  the  British  forces,  in  which  service  thou- 
sands laid  down  their  lives.  When  millions  fell  in 
the  world  war  it  was  natural  that  no  record  should  be 
kept  of  natives  who  died  beside  their  loads  on  name- 
less forest  paths,  but  their  loyalty  to  the  Empire  should 
never  be  forgotten.     Some  of  the  medical  missionaries 


LAWS  OF  LIVINGSTONIA  169 

were  drafted  into  the  Army  Medical  Service,  others 
were  put  in  charge  of  native  transport.  The  Institution 
proved  of  inestimable  value  as  a  base  of  supplies  to 
the  troops  operating  from  Karonga.  Its  post  office 
was  the  point  of  departure  for  the  despatch  riders,  its 
hospital  was  available  for  the  wounded,  and  its  meal 
mill  was  kept  running  day  and  night.  No  doubt  these 
things  were  only  a  by-product,  but  it  is  worthy  of  note 
that  all  the  money  ever  spent  on  the  Institution  was 
repaid  tenfold  in  these  terrible  days  of  the  world's 
need. 

The  war  bequeathed  to  Livingstonia  a  twofold  legacy. 
On  the  one  hand,  a  heart-breaking  legacy  of  sin  and 
moral  confusion.  Especially  at  Karonga  the  presence 
of  white  troops  demoralised  the  people  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  a  report  went  round  the  villages  that  even 
Dr.  Laws  had  given  up  the  Christian  faith  and  advised 
them  all  to  return  to  heathenism. 

*'How  do  you  account  for  this?"  said  the  mission- 
ary to  his  native  elders  as  they  sat  together  and  wept 
over  a  shattered  communion  roll. 

And  the  elders  answered,  "You  warned  us  against 
the  sin  of  drunkenness,  but  we  never  knew  what  drunk- 
enness was  till  these  white  men  came.  You  taught  us 
to  reverence  the  Sabbath,  but  they  laughed  it  to  scorn." 
And  they  went  on  thus  through  the  ten  commandments 
till  the  missionary  was  filled  with  a  burning  shame  for 
his  own  countrymen  who  had  struck  so  dastardly  a 
blow  to  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

The  other  legacy  is  an  open  door  of  service  to  the 
north.  A  fertile  and  populous  country  round  the 
north  end  of  Lake  Nyasa  is  now  incorporated  in  the 


170    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

Empire.  The  missions  there  are  derelict,  and  it  has 
fallen  to  Livingstonia  to  take  their  place  and  occupy 
the  territory,  for  it  seems  unlikely  that  any  German 
mission  will  again  consent,  even  if  allowed,  to  work  un- 
der the  British  flag.  This  opens  a  vast  new  outlook. 
If  the  site  of  the  Institution  had  a  fault  it  was  that 
it  lay  too  near  the  north  end  of  the  field  occupied  by 
the  Mission.  Extensive  tracts  of  what  was  German 
East  Africa  are  nearer  to  the  Institution  than  is  South 
Ngoniland.  Now  the  war  has  brought  about  the  possi- 
bility of  making  the  Institution  central,  and  of  build- 
ing up  around  it  a  strong  supporting  Church  without 
which  it  can  never  fully  serve  its  purpose. 

To  this  great  new  task  the  veteran  Dr.  Laws  has 
girded  himself  with  faith  undimmed  and  a  vision  that 
moves  out  in  ever  widening  circles  towards  the  new 
heavens  and  the  new  earth.  Of  his  own  future,  if  he 
ever  thinks  at  all,  it  would  only  be  to  repeat  the  words, 
written  forty  years  ago  in  the  first  dark  days  of  the 
Mission.  "Here  I  must  ever  be  fighting,  working, 
watching,  waiting,  praying;  rest  and  peace  are  the  en- 
joyment, the  heritage,  of  the  land  beyond," 


CHAPTER  VII 

MACKAY  OF  UGANDA 

I :  Stanley's  Letter 

On  November  15,  1875,  a  remarkable  letter  appeared 
in  the  Daily  Telegraph.  It  had  been  written  by- 
Stanley  in  Uganda  .and  entrusted  to  a  young  Belgian 
who  was  to  travel  home  down  the  Nile.  The  Belgian, 
however,  was  murdered  by  natives,  and  the  letter, 
which  was  found  afterwards  on  his  dead  body,  came 
into  the  hands  of  General  Gordon  of  Khartoum,  by 
whom  it  was  forwarded  to  England.  It  contained  a 
stirring  appeal  to  the  Church  to  evangelise  Uganda. 

The  situation  was  in  the  highest  degree  interesting 
and  romantic.  Less  than  twenty  years  before,  that 
vast  inland  sea,  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  had  been  dis- 
covered, with  the  Nile  pouring  out  at  its  northern  end. 
On  the  northwestern  shore  lay  the  territory  of  Uganda, 
which  in  comparison  with  the  savage  tribes  of  Central 
Africa  seemed  to  have  made  considerable  progress  in 
civilisation.  It  possessed  roads  and  bridges,  an  army 
and  2i  fleet  of  canoes  on  the  Lake.  Decent  clothing 
was  worn  by  the  people,  who  showed  some  skill  in 
agriculture,  building  and  iron  work.  The  King,  an 
absolute  monarch,  ruled  the  land  with  the  aid  of  his 
chiefs  and  high  officials.     Stanley  speaks  of  Uganda 

171 


1T2    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

as  *'the  Pearl  of  Africa."  At  the  time  of  his  visit 
Mtesa  the  King,  a  man  of  intelligence,  showed  some 
interest  in  the  Christian  faith  and  expressed  a  desire 
that  teachers  should  be  sent  out  from  England  to 
Uganda.     Hence  Stanley's  letter. 

It  was  a  challenge  that  could  not  fail  to  be  taken 
up.  It  fired  men's  imagination  to  think  that,  when  at 
last  the  ancient  Nile  had  yielded  up  the  secret  of  its 
birth,  there  should  be  discovered  near  its  source  a 
kingdom  more  civilised  than  any  other  in  Central 
Africa  whose  king,  prematurely  described  as  "an  en- 
lightened monarch,"  seemed  to  be  stretching  out  his 
hands  to  God.  The  Church  Missionary  Society 
promptly  responded,  and  within  six  months  of  the 
publication  of  Stanley's  letter  a  well-equipped  party  of 
eight  missionaries  left  England  for  Uganda.  Of  these, 
the  youngest  but  one,  and,  as  the  event  proved,  the 
most  famous,  was  Alexander  Mackay. 

11:  A  Missionary  Engineer 

Mackay  was  the  son  of  the  Free  Church  minister  of 
Rhynie  in  Aberdeenshire,  and  was  born  on  October 
13,  1849.  His  father,  who  was  a  man  of  wide  learn- 
ing, personally  supervised  the  education  of  his  boy,  hop- 
ing one  day  to  see  him  a  minister.  This  idea,  however, 
was  not  quite  to  the  lad's  mind.  He  had  a  passion 
for  mechanics,  and  along  with  that  a  sense  of  the  ro- 
mance of  missions.  On  the  long  Sunday  evenings  in 
winter,  when  his  father  was  holding  service  in  some 
remote  part  of  the  parish,  he  never  wearied  of  hear- 
ing his  mother  tell  of  Carey  and  Martyn,  of  Moffat 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  173 

and  Livingstone.  How  to  combine  these  diverse  in- 
terests, in  mechanics  and  missions,  was  the  problem 
that  began  to  occupy  his  thoughts.  It  was  considered 
as  prophetic  of  his  subsequent  career  that  when  quite 
a  child  he  used  to  go  among  the  masons  who  were 
building  the  Free  Church  of  Rhynie,  and  when  they 
jocularly  asked  him,  *'Weel,  laddie,  gaen  to  gie's  a  ser- 
mon the  day?"  he  would  reply,  "Please  give  me  trowel, 
can  preach  and  build  same  time." 

Mackay's  family  having  removed  to  Edinburgh  in 
1867,  he  entered  Moray  House,  the  Free  Church  Train- 
ing College  for  teachers,  and  completed  the  two  years' 
course  under  Dr.  Maurice  Paterson.  Thereafter,  while 
maintaining  himself  by  teaching  in  George  Watson's 
College,  he  made  a  thorough  study  of  engineering,  both 
theoretical  and  practical.  In  1873  he  went  to  Germany 
to  study  the  language  and  perfect  his  knowledge  of 
engineering.  For  over  two  years  he  worked  in  Berlin 
and  made  many  friends  among  the  evangelical  Chris- 
tians of  the  city. 

Meantime  the  idea  of  going  to  Africa  as  an  engineer 
missionary  had  taken  definite  shape  in  his  mind,  and 
he  had  some  correspondence  with  Dr.  Duff  and  others 
on  the  subject.  His  proposal  was  something  of  a 
novelty,  but  was  essentially  sound.  The  value  of  medi- 
cal science  as  an  aid  to  mission  work  had  come  to  be 
recognised,  and  Mackay  claimed  that  a  knowledge  of 
the  mechanical  arts  might  equally  become  a  handmaid 
of  the  Gospel.  Christian  civilisation,  including  all 
the  wonders  of  modern  science,  was  a  unity,  which 
should  be  brought  to  bear,  in  its  full  weight,  on  the 


174i    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

heathen  mind.  It  was  while  revolving  these  things  in 
his  mind  that  he  saw  the  appeal  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  for  pioneers  for  Uganda,  and,  as  there 
appeared  no  immediate  prospect  of  an  opening  in  con- 
nection with  his  own  Church,  he  volunteered  and  was 
accepted. 

The  Committee  of  the  Society  held  a  farewell  meet- 
ing on  April  25,  1876,  and  at  that  meeting  Mackay 
made  some  very  memorable  remarks.  Speaking  last 
he  said,  ''There  is  one  thing  which  my  brethren  have 
not  said,  and  which  I  wish  to  say.  I  want  to  remind 
the  Committee  that  within  six  months  they  will  prob- 
ably hear  that  one  of  us  is  dead."  These  words,  spoken 
by  a  slim,  blue-eyed  boy,  were  startling,  and  there  was 
a  silence  in  the  room  that  might  be  felt.  Then  he  went 
on,  "Yes,  is  it  at  all  likely  that  eight  Englishmen  should 
start  for  Central  Africa  and  all  be  alive  six  months 
after?  One  of  us  at  least — it  may  be  I — ^will  surely 
fall  before  that.  But,'*  he  added,  "what  I  want  to  say 
is  this.  When  that  news  comes,  do  not  be  cast  down, 
but  send  some  one  else  immediately  to  take  the  vacant 
place." 

In  less  than  two  years  we  find  him  writing  mourn- 
fully, "There  were  eight  of  us  sent  out.  Only  two 
remain.  Poor  Africa!  When  will  it  be  Christianised 
at  this  rate?"  Of  the  six  who  had  fallen,  two  had 
died,  two  were  murdered,  and  two  invalided  home. 
Mackay  himself  was  the  last  survivor  of  the  band, 
and  was  enabled  to  give  fourteen  years  of  unbroken 
service  in  Central  Africa  ere  he  was  laid  in  his  grave 
beside  the  great  Nyanza. 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  175 

III :  'Toor  Moses'' 

It  was  determined  that  the  expedition  should  ap- 
proach Uganda  from  the  east  coast  opposite  Zanzibar, 
travelling  up  through  the  country  which  shortly  after- 
wards became  German  East  Africa.  This  involved  an 
overland  journey  of  800  miles  to  the  south  end  of  Lake 
Victoria  Nyanza.  It  was  an  undertaking  of  no  small 
difficulty,  not  merely  to  make  the  journey,  but  to  carry 
all  the  equipment  necessary  for  the  founding  of  the 
Mission,  including  a  boat  for  service  on  the  Lake. 
Mackay  was  in  command  of  the  rearguard  of  200  car- 
riers laden  with  the  boat  and  the  heavier  baggage.  He 
encountered  all  the  vexations,  delays,  and  unforeseen 
troubles  which  are  inevitable  in  African  travel. 

*'It  occurs  to  me  often  as  a  poser,"  he  writes,  '*if  two 
hundred  men  on  the  march  can  give  such  endless  trou- 
ble, what  anxiety  must  poor  Moses  have  been  in  on 
his  march  with  more  than  two  million  souls?  The 
Lord  God  was  with  him,  seems  to  be  the  only  explana- 
tion, and  my  fears  are  all  calmed  by  the  fact  that  this 
caravan  is  the  Lord's,  and  He  will  give  all  necessary 
grace  for  guiding  it." 

Several  of  the  party  were  down  with  fever,  and 
Mackay  himself  at  last  became  so  ill  that  he  had  to  re- 
turn to  the  coast.  Having  speedily  recovered  his 
health,  he  received  instructions  from  the  Committee 
in  March,  1877,  not  to  start  for  Uganda  till  the  rainy 
season  was  over,  but  to  employ  himself  meantime  in 
making  a  wagon  road  from  the  coast  to  Mpwapwa, 
230  miles  inland.  This  work  he  successfully  accom- 
plished in  the  summer  of  1877,  bridging  the  nullahs, 


176    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

and  cutting  his  way  in  places  through  the  densest 
bush.  He  writes,  "Imagine  a  forest  of  lofty,  slender 
trees,  with  a  cop  between  of  thorny  creepers,  so  dense 
below  that  a  cat  could  scarcely  creep  along  and 
branched  and  intertwined  above  like  green,  unravelled 
hemp.  The  line  of  the  road  through  it  is  a  path  wrig- 
gling left  and  right,  as  if  it  had  followed  the  trail  of 
a  reptile,  and  almost  losing  itself  here  and  there,  where 
the  creeping  wild  vine  and  thorny  acacia  have  en- 
croached upon  it.  .  .  .  Now  the  densest  jungle  has 
yielded  to  the  slashing  strokes  of  a  score  of  Snider 
sword  bayonets,  which  I  have  given  my  best  men  to 
carry.'* 

His  next  instruction  was  to  arrange  for  wagon 
transport  along  the  road.  This  was  no  light  task, 
for  not  only  the  oxen  but  also  the  drivers  had  to  be 
trained.  In  spite  of  these  difficulties  Mackay  was 
successful  in  bringing  his  loads  on  to  Mpwapwa,  but  he 
found  that  the  natives  of  the  interior  viewed  with 
great  suspicion  the  long  train  of  oxen  on  the  white 
man's  road.  Accordingly,  having  arranged  for  the 
loads  to  be  brought  on  by  carriers,  he  pushed  for- 
ward rapidly  to  the  Lake. 

IV:  Into  the  Lion's  Mouth 

Meantime  his  comrades  of  the  pioneer  party  had 
been  sadly  reduced.  They  reached  the  south  end  of 
the  Lake,  but  within  six  weeks  Dr.  Smith,  Mackay's 
great  friend  and  fellow-countryman,  was  dead. 
Shortly  afterwards,  two  others,  Shergold  Smith  and 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  177 

O'Neill,  having  gone  to  the  island  of  Ukerewe,  were 
murdered  in  trying  to  shelter  an  Arab  trader  who  had 
provoked  the  chief.  Only  one  of  the  party  had  reached 
Uganda. 

Mackay,  in  his  own  straightforward  and  fearless 
way,  determined  to  visit  Ukerewe  at  once,  and  if  pos- 
sible establish  friendly  relations  with  the  chief,  for  he 
saw  that  the  island  commanded  the  approach  to  Uganda 
across  the  Lake.  He  felt,  indeed,  that  he  was  putting 
his  head  into  the  lion's  mouth,  and  the  natives  warned 
him  that  he  would  never  leave  the  island  alive.  He 
went,  however,  in  spite  of  these  warnings,  alone  and 
unarmed.  He  remarks  casually  that  he  put  some  sul- 
phate of  zinc  in  his  pocket,  '*in  case  I  should  require 
an  emetic,  Ikonge,  the  chief,  being  known  as  a  poi- 
soner !"  His  courage  and  frankness  completely  won 
the  heart  of  the  chief,  who  after  a  few  days  slew  a 
goat  in  solemn  pledge  of  blood-brotherhood. 

Returning  to  the  mainland  he  set  to  work  to  fit  up 
the  boat  which  had  been  brought  from  the  coast.  The 
Mission  stores  were  in  a  state  of  absolute  chaos. 
*Tiled  in  heaps  promiscuously  lay  boiler  shells  and 
books,  cowrie  shells  and  candle  moulds,  papers  and 
piston  rods,  steam  pipes  and  stationery,  printers'  types 
and  tent  poles,  carbolic  acid,  cartridges,  and  chloro- 
form, saws  and  garden  seeds,  travelling  trunks  and 
toys,  tins  of  bacon  and  bags  of  clothes,  pumps  and 
ploughs,  portable  forges  and  boiler  fittings — here  a  cyl- 
inder, there  its  sole  plate,  here  a  crank  shaft,  there  an 
eccentric.  Despair  might  well  be  found  written  on 
my  features  as  I  sat  down  after  my  two  years'  march, 


178    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

to  rest  and  look  round  on  the  terrible  arrangement." 
Ten  days'  hard  work  altered  the  scene.  "The  engines 
of  our  steamer  now  stand  complete  to  the  last  screw, 
the  boiler  is  ready  to  be  riveted,  tools  and  types  have 
separate  boxes,  and  rust  and  dust  are  thrown  out  of 
doors.  It  seems  to  me  more  than  a  miracle  how  much 
remains  entire  of  the  really  admirable  outfit  which  the 
able  Directors  of  the  Society  supplied  us  with  when  we 
left  England." 

He  found  the  natives  friendly  and  filled  with  a  never 
ending  wonder  at  the  marvellous  things  he  did.  "When 
they  see  the  turning  lathe  at  work,  or  find  me  melting 
down  the  fat  of  an  ox  and  turning  out  beautiful  can- 
dles, their  wonder  knows  no  bounds.  Again  and  again 
I  have  heard  the  remark  that  white  men  came  from 
heaven.  Then  I  teach  this  and  that  more  intelligent 
fellow  the  use  of  various  things,  and  try  to  impress 
upon  all  a  truth  I  find  them  very  slow  to  believe — that 
they  themselves  can  easily  learn  to  know  everything 
that  white  men  know.  .  .  .  Round  comes  Sunday, 
when  tools  are  dropped,  and  the  reason  asked,  'Why.' 
I  have  my  Bible,  and  tell  that  it  is  God's  book,  and  He 
commanded  the  day  of  rest.  Many  know  a  little  of 
Swahili  which  is,  in  fact,  closely  allied  to  their  own 
language,  and  in  that  tongue  I  find  many  an  oppor- 
tunity to  teach  the  simplest  truths  of  religion,-  espe- 
cially how  God  has  come  down  among  men.  This 
'great  mystery  of  godliness'  is  the  astounding  story  to 
them,  and  many  I  find  eager  to  learn  to  read  that  they 
may  know  the  book  which  I  say  God  Himself  wrote 
for  men." 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  179 

V :  For  the  Soul  of  a  King 

After  two  months  of  this  work  the  boat  was  ready 
and  Mackay  sailed  across  the  Lake  to  Uganda,  which 
he  reached  on  November  i,  1878.  Here  he  received  a 
warm  welcome  from  Mtesa,  the  King,  who  assured  him 
of  his  friendship  for  England,  and  of  his  magnani- 
mous resolve  never  to  make  war  on  that  country !  He 
fully  believed  himself  to  be  the  greatest  monarch  on 
earth,  but  though  gifted  with  considerable  intelligence, 
he  proved  in  the  end  to  be  a  sensual  and  capricious 
tyrant.  For  a  time  the  omens  were  most  favourable. 
The  King,  his  chiefs  and  people  were  greatly  impressed 
by  Mackay's  mechanical  skill,  so  far  surpassing  any- 
thing they  had  ever  seen.  ''Truly,"  they  said,  "Mackay 
is  the  great  spirit."  All  the  more  readily  they  lis- 
tened to  him  while  he  tried  to  teach  them  the  wonders 
of  science  and  the  greater  wonders  of  grace.  ''God 
has  blessed,  and  is  still  blessing,  our  work  here,"  he 
writes,  "for  he  has  made  the  King  and  people  willing 
at  least  to  be  taught.  Fortunately  Swahili  is  widely 
understood,  and  I  am  pretty  much  at  home  in  that 
tongue,  while  I  have  many  portions  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament  in  Swahili.  I  am  thus  able  to  read 
frequently  to  the  King  and  the  whole  court  the  Word 
of  God,  and  there  is  a  mighty  power  in  that  alone. 
On  Sundays  I  hold  regularly  divine  service  in  court, 
and  all  join  as  far  as  they  understand.  Stanley  be- 
gan the  good  work,  and  now  we  are  enabled  to  carry 
it  on." 

On  Christmas  Day  he  held  a  special  service,  when  all 
the  chiefs  were  in  full  dress  and  he  explained  the  sig- 


180    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

nificance  of  the  day.  An  Arab  trader  having  just  ar- 
rived with  guns  and  cloth  which  he  would  sell  only 
for  slaves,  Mackay  vigorously  opposed  him.  He  spoke 
of  the  marvels  of  the  human  body  and  asked  why  such 
an  organism  which  no  man  could  make  should  be  sold 
for  a  rag  of  cloth  which  any  man  could  make  in  a  day. 
Early  in  1879  a  party  arrived  to  reinforce  the  Mission, 
having  travelled  up  the  Nile.  The  work  now  went  for- 
ward hopefully. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  before  clouds  began  to 
darken  the  sky.  In  February  a  company  of  French 
priests  appeared  on  the  scene  in  Uganda,  and  com- 
menced that  course  of  aggression  which  was  destined 
to  bear  such  bitter  fruit.  It  is  difficult  to  speak  with 
moderation  of  their  policy  and  conduct.  With  all 
heathen  Africa  to  Christianise,  Rome  seems  to  have 
deliberately  chosen  the  policy  of  following  and  sub- 
verting Protestant  Missions.  No  doubt  in  the  case  of 
Uganda  there  were  political,  as  well  as  religious  influ- 
ences, at  work.  France,  having  interests  in  Egypt, 
coveted  the  head  waters  of  the  Nile,  and  was  push- 
ing in  from  the  west  coast.  The  French  missionaries 
in  Uganda,  to  say  the  least,  sympathised  with  this  aim. 
They  secretly  supplied  arms  to  their  followers,  whom 
they  taught  to  look  to  France  as  their  friend.  Even 
after  Uganda  became  a  British  Protectorate  the  in- 
trigue was  carried  on.  The  two  Christian  parties 
which  arose  in  course  of  time  were  known  as  the  Ba- 
Ingleza  and  the  Ba-Fransa.  The  division,  as  Sir  Fred- 
erick Lugard  pointed  out,  was  not  a  purely  religious 
one,  but  was  practically  a  division  between  those  who 
obeyed  the  law  and  those  who  resisted  it. 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  181 

These  things  were  as  yet  hidden  in  the  future,  but 
nieantime  the  coming  of  the  priests  created  a  most 
difficult  and  trying  situation.  They  refused  to  ac- 
khowledge  the  Protestant  Mission  as  Christian,  claim- 
ing for  themselves  an  exclusive  right  to  that  name, 
Mtesa  was  flattered  by  the  presence  of  white  men 
at  his  court,  and  displayed  a  lively  interest  in  the  vari- 
ous religious  views  which  were  pressed  upon  him.  He 
seemed  never  to  weary  of  question  and  argument. 
Moreover,  as  if  to  complete  the  religious  confusion,  the 
Arab  traders  in  Uganda  were  advocating  the  claims  of 
Islam,  and  had  won  a  party  to  their  side.  The  whole' 
situation  was  strange  and  probably  unique, — a  heathen 
King  in  Central  Africa  with  Mohammedan,  Roman- 
ist and  Protestant  competing  for  his  suffrage.  The 
strongest  argument  of  the  Arabs  was  that  the  white 
men  would  come  and  "eat  up  the  country."  They 
told  the  King  how  a  steamer  was  now  on  Lake 
Nyasa,  and  slave  raiding  was  killed  in  that  region.  This 
was  a  consideration  which  Mtesa  could  fully  appreciate, 
for  the  slave  trade  was  one  of  his  most  profitable  activi- 
ties. 

As  weeks  passed  and  the  discussion  still  went  on, 
it  became  increasingly  apparent  that  the  King,  for  all 
his  keenness  and  intellectual  interest,  was  morally  a 
trifler.  He  delighted  to  play  off  one  party  against 
another,  but  from  first  to  last  he  remained  a  heathen. 
One  day,  in  a  moment  of  unusual  candour,  he  summed 
up  the  position  thus.  "If  we  accept  the  white  men's 
religion,  we  must  then  have  only  one  wife  each,  while 
if  we  accept  the  religion  of  the  Arabs,  we  cannot 
eat  every  kind  of  flesh." 


182    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

All  through  the  year  1880  Mackay  bore  the  strain 
of  this  conflict,  sometimes  with  brightening  hope, 
sometimes  utterly  cast  down.  On  the  23rd  of  Decem- 
ber, after  describing  the  departure  of  two  plundering 
armies,  he  writes,  ''This  is  the  fifth  time  in  the  course 
of  two  years  that  a  great  army  has  been  sent  by  Mtesa 
into  Busoga,  not  to  war,  but  avowedly  to  devastate  and 
murder,  and  bring  back  the  spoil — women,  children,  cat- 
tle and  goats.  The  crime  is  awful.  The  most  heart- 
rending of  Livingstone's  narratives  of  the  slave  hunts 
by  Arabs  and  Portuguese  on  the  Nyasa  and  Tanganyika 
shores,  dwindle  into  insignificance  compared  with  the 
organised  and  unceasing  slave-hunts  carried  on  by  this 
'enlightened  monarch  and  Christian  king.'  We  feel 
sorely  downcast.  Our  last  hopes  seem  gone.  The 
lads  who  had  learned  the  most,  and  seemed  most  im- 
pressed, have  been  put  out  of  the  way.  The  few  chiefs 
of  whom  we  had  hopes  have  gone  back,  while  the  other 
chiefs  and  the  King  seem  only  daily  to  become  more 
hardened  and  hopelessly  sunk  in  every  form  of  vice 
and  villany.     But  is  any  case  too  hard  for  the  Lord?" 

VI :  ''Great  News" 

In  March,  1881,  three  Baganda  envoys,  whom  Mtesa 
had  sent  to  England  eighteen  months  before,  returned 
home.  They  had  seen  the  glories  of  England  and  been 
graciously  received  in  audience  by  Queen  Victoria, 
and  it  was  hoped  that  their  return  would  bring  an  in- 
fluence favourable  to  the  Mission.  This  hope,  how- 
ever, proved  vain.  The  envoys  had  many  wonders  to 
tell,  of  seas  and  ships  and  cities.     "We  have  no  coun- 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  183 

try  at  all,"  they  said.  But  they  immediately  resumed 
their  heathen  life,  and  one  of  them  showed  himself  a 
bitter  enemy  of  the  Mission. 

About  the  same  time  a  plague  broke  out  in  Uganda. 
Many  died  and  the  people  became  panic-stricken.  Mac- 
kay,  having  no  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  disease, 
refused  to  prescribe  for  it,  but  he  urged  upon  the  King 
the  enforcement  of  sanitary  precautions  which  did 
something  to  hinder  the  spread  of  the  trouble.  The 
Arabs  had  increased  in  their  hostility  towards  Mackay 
and  they  brought  the  most  atrocious  charges  against 
him,  declaring  that  he  was  a  criminal  lunatic  who  had 
escaped  justice  in  his  own  country  and  was  plotting 
fresh  crimes  in  Uganda.  It  suited  the  humour  of  the 
King  to  give  ear  to  these  charges,  but  he  well  knew 
them  to  be  false,  and  besides  he  thought  Mackay  far 
too  clever  and  useful  a  man  to  be  driven  out  of  the 
country. 

Meantime  Mackay  went  on  steadily  with  the  work. 
His  barter  goods  were  all  either  spent  or  stolen,  and  he 
must  needs  keep  his  forge  going  to  earn  his  daily  bread. 
But  he  began  to  gather  round  him  an  increasing  band 
of  disciples.  Some  would  stand  beside  him  at  the 
bench  while  they  recited  their  reading  lesson,  and  when 
small  portions  of  Scripture  were  printed  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Uganda  they  were  eagerly  bought  up.  One 
day  in  October,  1881,  a  slave  brought  a  letter  which 
he  had  laboriously  written  with  a  home-made  pen  and 
ink  of  soot.  It  ran  thus.  ''Bwana  Mackay,  Sembera 
has  come  with  compliments  and  to  give  you  great  news. 
Will  you  baptise  him,  because  he  believes  the  words  of 
Jesus  Christ?"    It  was  "great  news"  indeed,  for  Sem- 


18^    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

bera  was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  exemplary  life,  and 
he  became  the  first  fruits  of  the  Gospel  in  Uganda. 

The  following  Christmas  Mackay  records  a  touch- 
ing story  of  a  boy  who,  after  being  under  instruction 
for  some  time,  took  ill  and  died.  Finding  the  end 
near  he  asked  a  heathen  lad  to  sprinkle  water  on  his 
head  and  name  over  him  the  names  of  the  Father,  Son 
and  Holy  Ghost.  "I  do  believe,"  Mackay  concludes 
with  conviction,  ''that  this  baptism  by  a  heathen  lad 
has  been  written  in  heaven."  On  March  i8,  1882,  the 
first  five  converts  were  baptised,  and  thus  was  consti- 
tuted the  native  Christian  Church  of  Uganda  which 
was  destined  so  soon  to  pass  through  the  fires  of  perse- 
cution to  a  glorious  victory. 

Vll:  A  Royal  Funeral 

The  life  of  a  pioneer  missionary  is  full  of  the  strang- 
est vicissitudes  and  most  extraordinary  experiences. 
Within  a  week  the  King's  mother  died,  and  he  deter- 
mined to  give  her  a  burial  of  unusual  splendour.  Hav- 
ing learnt  that  the  great  ones  in  England  bury  their 
dead  encased  in  three  coffins,  he  was  not  to  be  outdone. 
Could  Mackay  make  three  coffins?  Yes,  if  the  ma- 
terial was  supplied.  It  proved,  however,  a  bigger  job 
than  Mackay  had  bargained  for  and  cost  him  a  month's 
hard  work.  Everything  had  to  be  on  the  biggest  pos- 
sible scale.  A  small  army  of  native  smiths  and  la- 
bourers was  commandeered,  trees  were  cut  down  and 
dragged  in  from  the  forest,  while  copper  trays,  drums, 
and  vessels  of  every  sort  were  hammered  out  to  make 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  185 

the  metal  shell.  After  infinite  trouble  the  three  mon- 
strous boxes  were  finished,  the  outermost  ''with  strong 
ribs  like  a  schooner  and  looking  like  a  small  house 
rather  than  a  coffn."  The  body  of  the  old  queen  was 
enclosed,  packed  in  valuable  cloths,  and  the  whole  was 
finally  deposited  in  a  huge  pit  thirty  feet  deep,  which 
was  filled  with  cloths  and  covered  up.  Mackay  esti- 
mated,— and  the  Arabs  by  an  independent  calculation 
reached  the  same  figure, — that  £15,000  worth  of  cloth 
was  buried  in  the  grave. 

The  fame  of  these  obsequies  resounded  through  the 
land  and  gave  Mackay  a  unique  reputation  among  the 
people.  One  happy  result  flowed  from  it.  Walukaga, 
the  King's  head  blacksmith,  was  brought  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Mackay  and  listened  eagerly  to  the  Gospel. 
By  and  by  he  became  a  Christian  and  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  the  Church. 

Mtesa  was  ill  of  a  tedious  disease,  and  in  his  trouble 
he  turned  to  the  heathen  witchdoctors.  They  recom- 
mended that  human  sacrifices  on  a  large  scale  should 
be  offered  upon  all  the  surrounding  hills.  This  atro- 
cious order  was  promptly  carried  out.  Executioners  lay 
in  ambush  along  the  highways  leading  to  the  capital 
and  seized  all  passers-by.  A  chief  or  a  rich  man  might 
ransom  himself,  but  for  a  poor  man  there  was  no  es- 
cape. When  a  sufficient  number  of  victims  was  col- 
lected they  were  all  slaughtered  on  the  appointed  day. 
In  1884  Mtesa  died  as  he  had  lived,  a  heathen.  Mac- 
kay's  services  were  again  in  request  to  make  the  King's 
coflfins.  On  this  occasion  two  sufficed  of  more  moder- 
ate dimensions. 


186    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

VIII :  Mwanga  the  Persecutor 

The  new  King  was  Mwanga,  a  lad  of  seventeen,  who 
had  been  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Mission  and  prom- 
ised to  show  it  every  favour.  Like  more  august  mon- 
archs,  however,  when  he  came  to  the  throne  he  forgot 
his  promises.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  things  had 
taken  a  decided  turn  for  the  worse.  Mwanga  was  weak 
and  vain,  as  well  as  vicious,  and  accordingly  he  began 
to  display  his  power  and  to  play  the  part  of  the  haughty 
tyrant.  He  flung  himself  with  zest  into  every  heathen 
abomination,  and  because  the  Mission  condemned  these 
he  became  a  bitter -enemy  and  a  persecutor. 

On  June  30,  1885,  he  set  the  crown  of  martyrdom 
on  the  heads  of  three  native  Christian  lads.  Mackay 
and  his  colleague,  Mr.  Ashe,  were  going  down  to  the 
Lake  accompanied  by  two  of  their  boys  when  they  were 
suddenly  set  upon  and  driven  back  home  with  violence, 
while  the  two  boys  were  arrested.  That  night  the 
Mission  house  was  searched,  but  fortunately  the  Chris- 
tians had  gone  into  hiding.  Next  morning  Mackay 
heard  that  the  two  lads,  together  with  a  third,  had  been 
burnt  to  death.  It  was  said  that  in  the  fire  they  sang 
a  hymn  in  the  language  of  Uganda,  "Daily,  daily  sing 
His  praises."  *'Our  hearts  are  breaking,"  Mackay 
writes.  "All  our  Christians  dispersed.  We  are  lonely 
and  deserted,  sad  and  sick." 

Mwanga,  shortly  after,  sent  for  Mackay  and  pre- 
tended that  the  execution  had  been  carried  out  with- 
out his  knowledge.  No  doubt  some  of  his  principal 
chiefs  were  more  bitterly  hostile  than  the  poor  weak- 
ling of  a  King  himself,  who  was  swayed  to  and  fro 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  187 

by  his  passions  and  fears.  He  now  adopted  an  atti- 
tude of  more  friendliness,  deposed  seventeen  heathen 
chiefs  and  put  others,  friendly  to  the  Mission,  in  their 
place.  Mackay  writes,  *'The  King  has  saved  himself 
and  us  by  this  sharp  stroke.  God  be  thanked." 
Mwanga  was  now  receiving  Christian  instruction,  and 
things  began  again  to  look  hopeful. 

In  the  autumn,  however,  there  occurred  a  tragic 
event  which  clouded  all  the  brightness.  This  was  the 
murder  of  Bishop  Hannington  and  his  party  on  the 
borders  of  Uganda.  The  story  is  one  of  the  most  fa- 
miliar in  missionary  annals.  Early  in  the  year  Han- 
nington had  been  appointed  the  first  bishop  of  East 
Africa,  and  after  some  time  spent  at  the  coast  he  set  out 
for  Uganda.  Instead  of  journeying  to  the  south  end 
of  the  Lake  as  the  pioneer  party  had  done,  he  chose 
a  route  much  farther  to  the  north,  and  travelled  inland 
from  Mombasa  through  the  country  now  traversed  by 
the  Uganda  railway.  This  route  was  shorter  and 
healthier  than  the  other,  and  gave  direct  access  to  Ugan- 
da round  the  north  end  of  the  Lake.  Unfortunately  the 
Bishop  was  ignorant  of  the  state  of  feeling  in  Uganda. 
The  Arabs  had  never  ceased  to  affirm  that  the  white 
men  would  come  to  eat  up  the  country,  and  this  had 
recently  been  confirmed  by  German  annexations  at  the 
coast.  The  King  and  his  chiefs  felt  comparatively  safe 
behind  the  great  barrier  of  the  Lake,  but  they  believed 
that  real  danger  would  arise  when  white  men  ap- 
proached the  country  by  the  north  end  of  the  Lake, 
where  it  lay  most  exposed  towards  the  coast. 

It  was  this  very  route  that  Bishop  Hannington  had 
unhappily  chosen.     When  the  report  of  his  advance 


188    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

reached  Uganda  there  was  a  great  stir  at  the  court  and 
consternation  at  the  Mission.  Mackay  sent  the  boat 
across  to  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Lake  in  an  en- 
deavour to  intercept  the  Bishop,  but  without  avail. 
Unconscious  of  all  this,  the  caravan  from  the  coast 
moved  forward  till  near  the  borders  of  Uganda.  The 
Bishop,  leaving  the  main  body,  pushed  on  more  rapidly 
with  fifty  carriers,  and  approached  the  point  where 
the  Victoria  Nile  flows  out  of  the  Lake.  Here  the 
whole  party  were  made  prisoners,  and  after  a  week 
of  suspense  came  the  order  for  their  execution.  Han- 
nington  met  his  death  like  a  brave  man  and  a  Christian, 
bidding  his  murderers  tell  the  King  that  he  died  for 
the  Baganda. 

The  news  of  this  catastrophe  soon  reached  the  mis- 
sion. Mackay  heard  the  whole  story  from  eye-wit- 
nesses, and  fortunately  recovered  Hannington's  private 
diary,  which  he  sent  home.  But  no  word  was  spoken 
openly  about  the  murder  as  Mwanga  denied  all  knowl- 
edge of  it  and  became  very  threatening.  His  favour- 
ite page,  having  ventured  to  say  that  it  was  wrong  to 
kill  the  white  man,  was  by  the  King's  instant  order 
taken  out  and  burnt  to  death. 

Of  this  sorrowful  time  Mackay  writes,  "We  had 
been  enjoying  much  blessing  in  our  work,  and  many 
more  have  been  baptised.  Now  no  one  is  allowed  to 
come  near  us  under  pain  of  death.  Yet  they  do  come, 
chiefly  at  night.  Mwanga  would  be  glad  to  be  rid  of  us, 
yet  he  will  not  let  us  go,  all  of  us  at  any  rate,  as  he 
means  to  keep  us  as  hostages,  because  he  dreads  punish- 
ment.    At  the  same  time  he  threatens  to  put  us  in  the 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  189 

stocks,  and  challenges  England  and  the  whole  of  Eu- 
rope to  release  us." 

Yet  not  for  a  moment  did  the  great  missionary  cease 
from  his  work,  as  the  following  brief  entry  shows, 
^'Writing  out  revision  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  Ashe 
busy  setting  it  up.  Time  of  persecution  has  always 
been  a  printing  time."  He  also  arranged  that  the 
Christians  should  meet  in  small  companies  at  the 
houses  of  the  native  elders,  and  thus  they  would  be 
trained  to  rely  upon  their  own  resources. 

Meantime  things  went  ill  with  Mwanga.  His  eyes 
gave  him  trouble,  then  his  store  of  powder  blew  up, 
killing  a  number  of  the  people  and  burning  down  his 
house.  He  took  refuge  in  the  house  of  his  Katikiro,  or 
Prime  Minister,  but  next  day  it  was  struck  with  light- 
ning and  another  explosion  took  place.  Mwanga  was 
now  certain  that  the  missionaries  had  bewitched  him, 
and  he  vowed  vengeance.  He  was  a  contemptible  crea- 
ture, a  poor  besotted  drunkard,  brandishing  a  knife  and 
boasting  what  he  would  do,  but  unfortunately  for  the 
country  he  was  King,  and  the  lives  of  millions  were 
in  his  hands. 

The  storm  burst  at  the  end  of  May,  1886,  when  an 
order  was  given  for  the  arrest  of  all  the  Christians. 
Eleven  were  killed  the  first  day  and  a  systematic  hunt 
was  begun  in  all  directions.  Of  the  murders,  mutila- 
tions and  tortures  that  followed  there  is  no  complete 
record,*  save  in  the  books  of  God.  But  the  bitterness 
of  the  persecution  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that 
in  one  day  thirty-two  Christians,  including  many  of 
the  leaders  of  the  Church,  were  slowly  burnt  to  death. 
These  martyrs  made  a  noble  end,  so  that  the  head  exe- 


190    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

cutioner,  like  the  centurion  at  the  Cross,  was  com- 
pelled to  bear  witness,  reporting  to  the  King  that  *'he 
had  never  killed  such  brave  people  before,  that  they 
died  calling  upon  God." 

It  will  not  surprise  those  acquainted  with  Church 
history  that  this  persecution,  instead  of  dismaying  the 
Christians,  inspired  them  with  new  faith  and  courage. 
Many  seemed  utterly  fearless,  and  even  rash.  Others, 
who  had  made  no  confession  previously,  now  came 
forward  desiring  baptism.  Mr.  Ashe  tells  the  story 
of  one,  named  Kiobe,  who  had  asked  for  baptism. 
"  *Do  you  know  what  you  are  asking?'  I  said  to  him. 
*I  know,  my  friend,'  he  replied.  ^But,'  I  said,  *you  know 
if  you  say  you  are  a  Christian  they  will  kill  you.'  *I 
know,  my  friend.'  'But,'  I  said,  'suppose  people  asked 
you  if  you  were  a  reader,  would  you  tell  a  lie  and  deny 
it  and  say  no?'  *I  shall  confess,  my  friend,'  he  replied. 
Mackay  and  I  both  thought  him  worthy  of  the  rite. 
So  he  was  baptised  there  and  then." 

IX :  "The  Universe  is  God's'' 

As  the  persecution  continued  the  two  missionaries 
thought  it  might  ease  the  situation  for  their  converts, 
and  lessen  the  King's  dread  of  the  white  man  if  they 
left  the  country  for  a  time  and  went  to  the  south  end  of 
the  Lake.  Mackay,  however,  had  been  putting  forth 
all  his  mechanical  skill  to  win  the  favour  of  Mwanga 
and  his  chiefs.  Accordingly  he  was  considered  too  use- 
ful a  man  to  be  allowed  out  of  the  country,  but  per- 
mission was  at  length  given  to  Mr.  Ashe  to  leave.  Af- 
ter his  departure  in  August,  1886,  Mackay  was  alone  in 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  191 

Uganda  for  a  year.  It  was  a  year  of  hard  work  and 
great  anxiety.  "I  am  plodding  on,  teaching,  translat- 
ing, printing,  doctoring,  and  carpentering.  .  .  .  Praise 
God !  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  is  now  published  complete 
in  Luganda,  and  rapidly  being  bought.  I  merely  stitch 
it,  with  title-page,  and  supply  loose  cover.  Binding, 
by  and  by.  This  work,  with  the  packing  and  giving 
medicine  to  the  Christians  ordered  off  to  war,  and  sit- 
ting up  to  all  hours,  teaching  households,  has  thor- 
oughly exhausted  me.  I  am  almost  entirely  broken 
down  with  fatigue  and  anxiety  and  want  of  sleep." 
Again  he  writes,  'What  sadness  and  melancholy  comes 
over  me  at  times,  and  I  find  myself  shedding  tears  like 
a  child !  Then  those  wonderfully  consoling  psalms  of 
David  and  Asaph,  which  send  a  thrill  of  joy  through 
my  whole  being.  This  all  but  omnipotent  reign  of 
evil  weighs  one  down,  and  then  the  exultant  hope  of 
its  eternal  destruction,  and  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
good,  cheers  me  up  to  more  endurance,  and  persever- 
ance to  the  end." 

The  hostility  of  the  Arabs  increased,  and  their 
cry  about  the  white  men  eating  up  the  country  became 
more  incessant.  Stanley  was  now  approaching  Uganda 
from  the  Sudan,  and  it  was  said  that  if  once  he  and 
Mackay  met  it  would  mean  the  ruin  of  the  country. 
The  French  Fathers,  also,  who  were  playing  a  deep 
game  of  their  own,  encouraged  this  idea.  **The  King 
himself  said  that  had  the  Arabs  told  him  'not  to  let 
Stanley  and  Mackay  meet,'  he  would  have  looked  on 
their  words  as  merely  enmity,  but  when  a  white  man 
said  this,  it  must  be  true." 

In  the  circumstances  Mackay  felt  compelled  to  press 


192    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

for  leave  to  depart.  Fortunately,  at  this  juncture,  a 
missionary  called  Cyril  Gordon  arrived  at  the  south 
end  of  the  Lake.  Mwanga,  who  was  familiar  with 
the  renowned  General  Gordon  of  Khartoum,  took  a 
fancy  to  having  a  missionary  of  that  name  in  his  coun- 
try. So  it  was  agreed  that  Mackay  should  cross  the 
Lake,  and  Gordon  come  to  take  his  place.  He  left 
Uganda  in  July,  1887. 

Mackay,  about  this  time,  was  earnestly  pressing  the 
condition  of  Uganda  upon  the  attention  of  the  Church 
at  home.  He  saw  that  European  control  of  some  kind 
was  inevitable,  but  he  had  little  hope  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  country  and  the  prosperity  of  the  Mission 
unless  a  railway  were  built  from  the  east  coast  to  the 
Lake.  He  speaks  of  it  as  the  one  sure  means  of 
"breaking  the  backbone  of  native  cantankerousness.'* 
He  had  no  interest  in  the  expansion  of  Empire,  and  he 
was  no  advocate  of  armed  intervention,  but  his  heart 
bled  for  the  sufferings  of  the  Christians  of  Uganda, 
and  the  more  widespread  horrors  of  the  slave  trade. 
Why,  he  asked,  should  Christendom  stand  by  and  see 
Christians  slaughtered?  Why  should  England  supply 
the  guns  and  powder  that  made  the  slave-raider  irresist- 
ible? It  seemed  to  him  no  sufficient  reply  to  say  that 
the  African  was  only  suffering  what  the  early  Chris- 
tians had  suffered,  and  that  he  must  work  out  his  own 
salvation.  As  well  might  one  argue  that  he  must  be 
left  alone  to  invent  his  own  steam  engine,  and  painfully 
build  up  his  own  civilisation,  instead  of  being  led  by  a 
shorter  road  and  taught  to  profit  by  the  experience  of 
other  nations. 

Mackay  was  well  aware  of  the  difficulties  of  the 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  193 

problem,  but  like  other  missionaries  he  welcomed  the 
appearance  of  civilised  government  in  Africa  in  the 
interest  of  the  common  people  of  the  land.  Writing 
to  his  colleague,  Mr.  Ashe,  who  had  gone  to  England  to 
inform  and  rouse  public  opinion,  he  says,  "To  relieve 
men  from  the  wrongs  under  which  they  perish,  to  se- 
cure freedom  for  the  oppressed,  yet  not  by  'blood  and 
iron,'  is  a  crux  indeed  for  statesmanship.  We  want 
not  so  much  an  arm  of  flesh  but  heads  of  wisdom, 
human  hearts,  and  helping  hands.  There  is  no  need 
for  gunpowder,  that  remedy  is  even  worse  than  the 
disease.  .  .  .  This  African  problem  tiiust  be  solved, 
and  in  God's  name  it  shall  be  solved,  for  God  means 
it  to  be  solved.  It  is  not  for  the  sake  of  the  few  scat- 
tered and  despised  missionaries  that  we  are  determined 
that  this  end  shall  be  attained,  but  for  the  sake  of 
Africa  itself.  Brutality  must  cease  in  God's  universe, 
for  the  universe  is  God's,  not  the  devil's.  .  .  .  The 
chronic  bloodshed  and  cruelty,  practised  in  inner 
Africa,  cannot  be  ended  by  gunboats  catching  prizes 
on  the  ocean.  What  is  that  but  plugging  up  the  aper- 
ture that  the  pus  may  find  no  exit,  while  all  the  time 
we  are  destroying  the  blood  by  daily  administering  a 
deadly  poison, — arms  and  ammunition,  support  and 
countenance,  to  Mwanga  and  other  butchers  of  our 
black  brothers  ?  The  rights  of  poor  men,  who  wish  to 
live  lives  of  peace,  are  more  divine  than  are  the  rights 
of  royal  robbers  and  murderers." 

X :  ^'The  Best  Missionary  Since  Livingstone'^ 

Mackay  now  settled  at  Usambiro  at  the  south  end  of 
the  Lake,  where  he  set  to  work  to  organise  a  mission 


194.    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

station,  in  preparation  for  the  arrival  of  Parker,  the 
new  Bishop,  who  was  expected  soon  with  reinforce- 
ments. The  party  arrived,  and  for  a  short  time  Mac- 
kay,  so  long  a  solitary,  enjoyed  the  delight  of  Chris- 
tian fellowship.  But  very  soon  Bishop  Parker  and 
Blackburn,  one  of  his  companions,  died.  Walker  crossed 
the  Lake  to  join  Gordon  in  Uganda,  another  was  in- 
valided home,  and  Mackay  was  once  more  alone. 

Meantime  there  was  serious  trouble  in  Uganda.  -Mo- 
hammedan and  Christian  chiefs  united  to  expel 
Mwanga,  who  had  plotted  a  wholesale  massacre.  Then 
the  Mohammedans,  by  a  sudden  coup  d'etat,  overthrew 
the  Christian  party  and  wrecked  the  Mission.  Within 
a  year  the  Christians  had  made  terms  with  Mwanga, 
and  restored  him  to  his  throne,  as  they  vainly  hoped,  a 
humbler  and  a  wiser  man.  In  August,  1889,  Mackay 
had  the  pleasure  of  welcoming  Stanley  on  his  return 
from  the  relief  of  Emin  Pasha  in  the  southern  Sudan. 
They  were  three  weeks  together  at  Usambiro,  and 
Stanley,  who  had  long  been  familiar  with  Mackay's 
v^ork,  wrote  of  him  with  the  warmest  admiration  as 
**the  best  missionary  since  Livingstone."  **I  was 
ushered  in,"  he  says,  ''to  the  room  of  a  substantial  clay 
structure,  the  walls  about  two  feet  thick,  evenly  plas- 
tered, and  garnished  with  missionary  pictures  and  pla- 
cards. There  were  four  separate  ranges  of  shelves 
filled  with  choice,  useful  books.  'Allah  ho  Akbar/ 
replied  Hassan,  his  Zanzibari  head-man  to  me,  'books ! 
Mackay  has  thousands  of  books,  in  the  dining  room, 
bedroom,  church,  everywhere.  Books !  ah,  loads  upon 
loads  of  them !'  .  .  .  He  has  no  time  to  fret  and  groan 
and  weep,  and  God  knows,  if  ever  man  had  reason  to 


MACKAY  OF  UGANDA  195 

think  of  'graves  and  worms  and  oblivion/  and  to  be 
doleful  and  lonely  and  sad,  Mackay  had,  when,  after 
murdering  his  bishop,  and  burning  his  pupils,  and 
strangling  his  converts,  and  clubbing  to  death  his  dark 
friends,  Mwanga  turned  his  eye  of  death  on  him.  And 
yet  the  little  man  met  it  with  calm  blue  eyes  that  never 
winked.  To  see  one  man  of  this  kind,  working  day 
by  day  for  twelve  years  bravely,  and  without  a  sylla- 
ble of  complaint  or  a  moan  amid  the  'wilderness,'  and 
to  hear  him  lead  his  little  flock  to  show  forth  God's 
loving  kindness  in  the  morning,  and  His  faithfulness 
every  night,  is  worth  going  a  long  journey  for  the 
moral  courage  and  contentment  that  one  derives  from 
it.  .  .  .  Like  Livingstone  he  declined  to  return,  though 
I  strongly  urged  him  to  accompany  us  to  the  coast" 
Stanley's  company  passed  on  their  way  homeward,  leav- 
ing "that  lonely  figure  standing  on  the  brow  of  the 
hill,  waving  farewell  to  us." 

The  next  visitor  to  Usambiro  was  Bishop  Tucker, 
but  there  was  no  Mackay  to  welcome  him.  Stanley  was 
not  alone  in  urging  Mackay  to  come  home.  The  Direc- 
tors of  the  Society  and  his  friends  pressed  upon  him  to 
take  his  furlough,  but  he  would  not  quit  his  post  till 
reinforcements  should  arrive.  He  sent  home  an  ur- 
gent appeal  for  "a  strong  batch  of  good  men,"  saying 
that  the  Continental  idea  of  "every  man  a  soldier,"  is 
the  true  watchword  for  Christian  missions.  Ere  the 
reinforcements  arrived  his  own  call  had  come.  After 
a  brief,  sharp  attack  of  fever  he  died  on  February  8, 
1890.  His  last  work  was  the  translation  into  Luganda 
of  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  John's  Gospel — the  story 


196   THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

of  the  many  mansions  of  the  Father's  house.     Then 
from  his  fourteen  years  of  exile  he  went  home. 

Six  months  later  Bishop  Tucker  arrived  at  Usam- 
biro,  and  thus  describes  the  scene.  **The  Mission  sta- 
tion, having  been  the  work  of  Mackay,  was  of  course 
well  built.  There  was  the  Mission  house — there  the 
workshops — over  there  the  printing  house,  and  away 
yonder  the  cattle  kraal.  To  see  Mackay's  tools  lying 
idle  and  rusting  in  the  workshops — the  forge  with  its 
dead  embers,  the  lathe  motionless — was  a  pathetic  and 
touching  sight.  But  still  more  touching  was  it  to  wend 
one's  way  to  the  little  burial  place  some  distance  off,  and 
to  stand  by  the  graveside  of  the  three  who  lay  there — 
Mackay,  Parker,  and  Blackburn."  .  .  .  *'The  loss  of 
Mackay,"  he  concludes,  "was  the  heaviest  blow  that 
had  yet  fallen  on  the  Mission.  His  faith,  his  cour- 
age, his  intellectual  capacity,  his  untiring  industry,  com- 
bined to  form  one  of  the  most  remarkable  characters 
of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  It  will  be  long  ere  the 
impress  which  he  left  on  the  lives  and  characters  of  the 
Baganda  will  be  effaced.  It  will  be  longer  still  ere 
his  noble  example  of  devotion  to  the  highest  ideals, 
of  courage  in  the  face  of  almost  insurmountable  dif- 
ficulties, of  self-sacrifice  and  self-denial,  ceases  to  in- 
spire men  to  a  participation  in  the  noblest  of  noble  en- 
terprises,— the  bringing  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  the 
truth  those  who  sit  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of 
death." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

GRENFELL   OF   THE    CONGO 

George  Grenfell  was  one  of  those  who  were  drawn 
to  the  Dark  Continent  by  the  immortal  story  of  Liv- 
ingstone, and  like  his  hero,  besides  being  a  great  mis- 
sionary, he  attained  to  the  front  rank  as  an  explorer. 
The  mighty  Congo,  father  of  African  rivers,  and  sec- 
ond only  to  the  Amazon  among  the  rivers  of  the  world, 
drains  the  whole  country  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the 
Atlantic  and  from  the  Sudan  to  the  Zambesi.  Its 
tributaries  would  dwarf  the  rivers  of  other  lands, 
and  they  join  with  the  main  stream  to  form  a  mag- 
nificent network  of  waterways  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
Continent.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  Grenfell  moved 
along  these  waterways  in  his  little  steamer,  the  Peace, 
ever  seeking  to  win  an  entrance  for  the  Gospel  into  sav- 
age hearts,  ever  ambitious  of  bearing  the  good  news  to 
more  distant  tribes,  and,  ere  he  finished  his  course,  he 
had  the  joy  of  being  welcomed  with  Christian  hymns 
in  places  where  once  he  had  been  met  with  showers 
of  poisoned  arrows. 

I :  From  Cornwall  to  the  Cameroons 

Grenfell   was   bom   on   August   21,    1849,    ^^   the 

village  of  Sancreed  in  Cornwall,  and  was  the  son  of 

a  country  carpenter.     Those  who  are  disposed  may 

197 


198    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

find  ample  evidence  in  his  career  of  the  proverbial  dog- 
gedness  of  the  Cornishman.  His  family,  however,  re- 
moved to  Birmingham  when  he  was  only  three  years 
old,  and  that  city  became  his  home  till  he  reached  man- 
hood. 

It  is  remarkable  how  trivial  an  event  may  deter- 
mine the  course  of  a  human  life.  A  curious  instance 
of  this  is  found  in  the  spiritual  history  of  Grenfell. 
His  family  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England  and 
he  was  sent  to  St.  Matthew's  Sunday  School  along 
with  his  younger  brother.  There  happened,  however, 
to  be  a  boy  at  the  school  who  bullied  them,  and  to  es- 
cape from  him  Grenfell  and  his  brother  left,  and  went 
to  a  Sunday  School  connected  with  Heneage  Street 
Baptist  Church.  This  Church  was  henceforward  his 
spiritual  home,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  re- 
ceived into  its  fellowship  by  baptism. 

Regarding  the  beginnings  of  his  spiritual  life  he  af- 
terwards wrote,  "My  earliest  religious  impressions  of 
a  serious  kind  date  back  to  the  early  sixties,  when  the 
great  wave  of  awakening  that  followed  the  revival  of 
'59  was  passing  over  the  country.  My  interest  in  Africa 
began  even  earlier,  being  aroused  by  the  pictures  in  Liv- 
ingstone's first  book,  and  deepened  when  I  was  about 
ten  years  of  age  by  the  reading  of  the  book  itself. 
Among  the  earliest  of  my  resolves  as  a  Christian  was 
that  of  devoting  myself  to  work  in  Africa,  and,  though 
I  cannot  claim  that  it  never  wavered,  it  was  certainly 
ever  after  my  dominant  desire." 

On  leaving  school  he  entered  a  warehouse,  where 
he  showed  considerable  aptitude  for  business,  and  came 
in  time  to  have  very  excellent  prospects.     But  his  in- 


GRENFELL  OF  THE  CONGO  199 

terests  were  centred  in  church  and  mission  work.  He 
belonged  to  a  band  of  strenuous  young  men,  connected 
with  Heneage  Street  Church,  whose  Sunday,  begin- 
ning with  a  prayer  meeting  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  included  about  seven  services,  with  tract  dis- 
tribution in  the  intervals,  and  who  rose  on  Monday 
morning  like  giants  refreshed  to  attend  a  class  in  ele- 
mentary Greek  at  the  minister's  house  at  half  past  six! 
They  formed  a  Theological  Class,  and  invited  the 
Roman  Catholic  bishop  to  appoint  some  competent  per- 
son "to  discuss  with  us  in  a  calm  and  friendly  spirit  the 
points  upon  which  we  vary  in  belief."  On  the  bishop 
failing  to  reply  Grenfell  was  instructed  to  write  a  letter 
of  expostulation.  Their  energies  found  a  more  profit- 
able outlet  in  publishing  a  little  quarterly  magazine, 
called  Mission  Work,  the  object  of  which  was  to  set  be- 
fore its  readers  "proofs  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe 
that  the  Gospel  is,  as  of  old,  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation." 

In  September,  1873,  Grenfell  gave  up  business  and 
entered  the  Baptist  College,  Bristol,  to  study  with  a  view 
to  becoming  a  missionary.  As  was  to  be  expected  he 
did  not  find  student  life  altogether  to  his  taste,  but  his 
character  and  missionary  enthusiasm  made  a  lasting 
impression  upon  the  men  of  the  College.  After  his 
death  a  fellow-student  wrote  of  him,  "Grenfell  and 
I  were  in  the  same  year,  though  he  was  very  consider- 
ably my  senior.  I  looked  up  to  him  with  a  great  deal 
of  respect,  and  loved  him  right  away.  Everybody 
loved  him.  He  was  strong  as  a  lion,  gentle  as  a 
woman,  intensely  sympathetic  and  absolutely  devoted. 
There   were   missionary   students   who   changed  their 


200    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

minds.     Grenfell's  mind  was  fixed.     Africa  was  in 
his  brain  and  upon  his  heart." 

After  a  year's  training  Grenfell  was  accepted  by 
the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  for  service  in  Africa. 
The  veteran  missionary,  Alfred  Saker,  was  at  home  on 
furlough  from  the  Cameroons,  and  it  was  arranged 
that  Grenfell  should  accompany  him  on  his  return. 
They  sailed  from  Liverpool  the  week  before  Christmas, 
1874,  and  reached  the  Cameroons  in  the  following  Jan- 
uary. 

The  Cameroons  Mission,  like  the  Presbyterian  Mis- 
sion in  Calabar,  had  its  birth  in  the  West  Indies.  The 
plantation  slaves  who  for  generations  had  been  swept 
away  from  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  longed  to 
carry  the  Gospel  back  to  their  homeland.  In  1840  two 
Baptist  missionaries  from  Jamaica  settled  on  the  island 
of  Fernando  Po,  which  lies  in  the  inmost  recess  of  the 
Gulf  of  Guinea,  about  four  degrees  north  of  the  Equa- 
tor. In  1844  they  were  joined  by  Saker,  who  began 
work  on  the  mainland  and  during  thirty  years  of  heroic 
service  laid  the  foundations  of  a  Christian  community. 

In  the  Cameroons  Grenfell  served  an  apprenticeship 
of  three  years  during  which  he  was  being  prepared  for 
his  great  work  on  the  Congo.  His  station  was  at  King 
Akwa's  Town,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Cameroons 
River,  about  twenty  miles  from  the  sea-coast.  Here 
he  made  acquaintance  with  that  pitiful  mixture  of  sav- 
agery and  civilisation  so  characteristic  of  the  West  coast 
of  Africa — kings  dressed  like  dignified  scarecrows, 
chiefs  who  would  cringe  for  a  bit  of  tobacco,  men  re- 
joicing in  such  names  as  Brass  Pan,  Pocket,  and  Liver- 
pool Joss,  women  with  a  dozen  brooches  fastened  in 


GRENFELL  OF  THE  CONGO  201 

their  hair  for  lack  of  a  dress  to  pin  them  to.  And 
combined  with  all  this,  as  if  to  prevent  the  onlooker 
from  regarding  it  lightly  as  mere  pantomime,  there 
was  stark  naked  heathenism  with  its  superstitions, 
its  cruelties,  its  hopelessness. 

Early  in  1876  Grenfell  was  married,  but  in  less  than 
a  year  his  wife  died,  and  he  tasted  the  first  deep  sor- 
row of  his  life.  Fortunately  he  was  joined  about  this 
time  by  Mr.  Comber  who  became  his  dearest  friend 
and  fellow  worker  for  the  next  ten  years,  till  he  also 
fell  a  victim  to  the  deadly  climate  of  the  West  Coast. 

With  the  instincts  of  a  pioneer  Grenfell  was  assidu- 
ously plying  his  canoe  along  the  various  waterways, 
seeking  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  people.  He  found 
many  of  their  villages  unpleasantly  inaccessible.  Some 
were  buried  in  deep  swamps,  others  were  perched  on 
rocky  hills,  these  sites  having  been  chosen  for  refuge  in 
the  old  slave  raiding  days.  Very  soon  he  became  con- 
vinced of  the  advantage  of  pushing  on  into  the  interior. 
For  reasons  both  of  health  and  of  efficiency  it  was  de- 
sirable to  get  away  from  the  swampy  coastland  with 
all  its  corrupting  influences.  "In  all  my  journeyings," 
he  writes,  ''I  have  kept  in  view  the  object  of  finding  the 
best  route  into  the  interior,  for  I  believe  that  if  the 
same  amount  of  effort  which  is  bestowed  here  were  be- 
stowed upon  some  inland  station  it  would  produce  far 
greater  results.  ...  It  would  be  a  grand  thing  to  be 
able  to  push  away  right  beyond  the  influences  that  oper- 
ate so  adversely,  and  it  can  be  done.  ...  It  is  cheer- 
ing to  one  who  longs  to  get  inland  to  know  that  the 
S3mipathy  of  the  Society  runs  in  that  direction  too." 


202    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

Ere  he  could  give  effect  to  these  ideas  in  the  Cameroons 
he  was  called  away  to  service  in  a  vastly  bigger  field. 

II :  The  Giant  Congo 

Six  hundred  miles  south  of  the  Cameroons  the 
Congo  enters  the  Atlantic.  Although  the  mouth  of  this 
giant  river  was  discovered  by  the  Portuguese  in  the 
15th  century  little  or  nothing  was  known  of  its  course. 
A  hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  navigation  was  barred  by 
a  region  of  cataracts,  beyond  which  the  map  was  blank. 
In  1877  all  this  was  changed.  Stanley  took  up  the 
problem  of  the  African  waterways  where  Livingstone 
left  it.  Setting  out  from  the  east  coast  he  passed  be- 
yond Lake  Tanganyika  and  struck  the  Lualaba  at 
Nyangwe.  From  there  he  followed  the  course  of  the 
river  northwards  to  Stanley  Falls,  and  then  west- 
wards till  he  appeared  at  the  Congo  mouth.  Among 
other  important  discoveries  he  showed  that,  beyond 
the  region  of  cataracts,  there  was  a  thousand  miles  of 
magnificent  waterway  to  the  Stanley  Falls,  above  which 
the  river  was  again  navigable  southwards  to  Nyangwe. 
All  along  the  course  of  the  river  great  tributaries  gave 
access  to  the  country  for  hundreds  of  miles  on  either 
bank.  The  vast  extent  of  this  river  system  may  be  in- 
dicated by  saying  that  if  it  were  superimposed  upon 
the  map  of  Europe  it  would  cover  the  whole  area  from' 
the  Shetland  Isles  to  Smyrna,  and  from  Moscow  to  the 
Pyrenees.  At  last  Equatorial  Africa  lay  open  from 
the  west  coast,  and  drew  the  eager  eyes  of  explorers 
and  traders,  of  missionary  societies  both  Protestant 
and  Romanist,  and,  alas,  also  of  the  devil  in  the  shape 
of  King  Leopold  of  Belgium. 


GRENFELL  OF  THE  CONGO  203 

The  Baptist  Missionary  Society  had  for  some  time 
been  considering  the  feasibihty  of  work  on  the  Congo, 
and  upon  Stanley's  discoveries  becoming  known  a 
prominent  supporter  of  the  Society,  Mr.  Arthrington, 
immediately  offered  £1000  to  start  the  mission,  and 
expressed  the  hope  *'that  soon  we  shall  have  a  steamer 
on  the  Congo,  if  it  be  found  requisite,  and  carry  the 
Gospel  eastwards,  and  north  and  south  of  the  river,  as 
the  way  may  open,  as  far  as  Nyangwe."  Thus  en- 
couraged the  Society  instructed  Grenfell  and  Comber 
to  proceed  to  the  Congo  and  break  new  ground.  The 
feelings  with  which  Grenfell  received  these  instruc- 
tions may  be  given  in  his  own  words  to  the  Committee. 
"The  decision  of  the  Committee  to  undertake  this  new 
effort  we  feel  to  be  the  right  one,  and  pray  most  ear- 
nestly that  it  may  prove  to  be  so.  God  seems  to  hold 
out  far  more  glorious  prospects  of  success  there  than 
appear  to  be  possible  here.  The  difficulties  there  may, 
indeed,  appear  less  because  they  are  farther  off  than 
those  by  which  we  are  surrounded  here.  However,  if 
I  stayed  here  I  should  never  give  up  trying  to  open  a 
way  for  the  Gospel,  and  though  the  difficulties  there 
may,  on  a  closer  acquaintance,  prove  even  greater 
than  those  at  Cameroons,  I  shall  still  try,  for  the  vic- 
tory is  sure." 

In  July,  1878,  the  pioneer  party  landed  at  the  Congo 
mouth,  where  they  were  cordially  received  by  a  Dutch 
trading  house,  and  shortly  after  they  proceeded  up  the 
river  in  their  own  boat.  They  were  welcomed  at  San 
Salvador  by  the  King  of  Kongo,  but  were  unable 
to  reach  the  upper  river  owing  to  the  determined  hos- 
tility of  the  natives  who  wounded  Comber  so  that  he 


204    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

narrowly  escaped  with  his  life.  Next  year,  however, 
reinforcements  arrived  from  England,  and  by  follow- 
ing a  route  along  the  north  bank  of  the  river  they 
succeeded  in  reaching  Stanley  Pool,  immediately  above 
the  cataracts.  The  road  to  the  upper  river  being  now 
open,  a  steel  boat  was  sent  out  for  the  use  of  the  Mis- 
sion, and  Mr.  Arthrington  offered  money  to  build  a 
small  steamer.  "I  believe  the  time  is  come,"  wrote  that 
generous  and  farseeing  man,  "when  we  should  make 
every  necessary  preparation  to  carry  out  the  original 
purpose  of  the  Congo  Mission — to  place  a  steamer  on 
the  Congo  River,  where  we  can  sail  north-eastward 
into  the  heart  of  Africa  for  many  hundred  miles  unin- 
terruptedly, and  bring  the  glad  tidings  of  the  everlast- 
ing Gospel  to  thousands  of  human  beings  who  now  are 
ignorant  of  the  way  of  life  and  immortality.  I  have 
therefore,  now  to  offer  to  your  Society  one  thousand 
pounds  towards  the  purchase  of  a  steamer  of  the  best 
make  and  capacity,  and  its  conveyance  and  launch  on 
the  river  at  Stanley  Pool,  and  three  thousand  pounds 
for  the  perpetual  maintenance  of  such  steamer  on  the 
Congo  and  its  affluents,  until  Christ  and  his  salvation 
shall  be  known  all  along  the  Congo,  from  Stanley  Pool 
to  +he  equatorial  cataracts." 

Ill :  Pioneering  in  tJie  Pea^e 

The  result  of  this  was  the  building  of  the  mission 
steamer,  the  Peace,  which  will  ever  be  associated  with 
the  name  of  Grenfell.  "For  months,  which  added  up 
to  years,  she  was  the  home  of  his  wife  and  babes,  who 
accompanied  him  in  his  eventful  voyaging.    Her  plates 


GRENFELL  OF  THE  CONGO  205 

and  rivets  were  as  dear  to  him  as  his  own  skin,  and 
the  throb  of  her  engines  was  Hke  the  beating  of  his 
own  heart.  Her  missionary  honour  was  to  him  a  thing 
beyond  price,  and  when  the  State  seized  her  for  pur- 
poses aUen  to  her  holy  work,  his  grief  was  passionate, 
as  though  the  ship  had  a  character  to  be  blasted,  and 
a  soul  to  be  stained." 

The  Peace  was  a  little  screw  steamer,  drawing 
twelve  inches  of  water,  and  constructed  in  sections  to 
enable  her  to  be  taken  to  pieces  for  transport  over  the 
cataracts.  During  1882  Grenfell  was  at  home  superin- 
tending the  construction  of  the  steamer.  By  December 
the  work  was  finished  and  he  sailed  from  Liverpool 
with  his  precious  freight,  accompanied  by  a  young 
missionary  engineer.  On  coming  home  to  England 
Grenfell,  who  had  remarried  in  1879,  left  his  wife  on 
the  Congo  where  she  was  now  waiting  his  return  with 
a  baby  whom  he  had  never  seen.  He  reached  the  mis- 
sion station  of  Underbill  at  the  foot  of  the  cataracts 
only  just  in  time  to  see  his  baby  die.  The  young 
engineer  also  died  not  long  after,  and  Grenfell  was  left 
with  the  whole  responsibility  of  the  steamer  on  his 
shoulders.  The  task  of  transporting  it  beyond  the 
cataracts  was  no  light  one.  Each  load  had  to  be  car- 
ried through  two  hundred  miles  of  difficult  country, 
covered  with  long  grass  and  cut  up  with  ravines  across 
which  the  packages  had  to  be  slung  by  ropes  and  pul- 
leys. ^After  months  of  labour  and  anxiety  the  loads 
were  brought  safely  through  to  Stanley  Pool. 

These  early  days  of  the  mission  were  heavy  with 
many  sorrows.  The  good  seed  was  sown  in  tears,  while 
man  after  man  fell  from  the  ranks.  Grenfell  was  almost 


206    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

in  despair.  "Single-handed,  as  four  of  our  stations 
are  at  this  moment,  who  can  be  surprised  at  disasters? 
...  If  more  men  don't  soon  come,  the  Congo  Mission 
will  collapse,  and  the  work  that  has  cost  so  much  will 
be  thrown  away." 

Cheered  by  the  news  that  two  engineers  were  on 
the  way  out,  Grenfell  resolved  to  leave  the  building 
of  the  Peace  to  their  skilled  hands,  and  meantime  to 
explore  the  course  of  the  river  in  the  steel  boat.  Ac- 
cordingly he  voyaged  for  three  weeks  up  the  south 
bank,  and  then,  crossing  the  river,  returned  along  the 
north  bank.  He  found  the  natives  timid  and  suspi- 
cious but  generally  friendly.  He  was  amused  by  the 
antics  of  a  medicine  man  who,  on  the  approach  of  a 
storm,  forbade  the  rain  to  fall,  and  kept  on  forbidding 
it  throughout  the  course  of  a  two  hours'  downpour  at 
the  end  of  which  he  claimed  the  victory.  But  every- 
where sad  evidences  were  seen  of  the  unhappy  condi- 
tion of  the  people. 

Grenfell  writes,  *'How  much  this  part  of  Africa 
stands  in  need  of  help  I  cannot  tell  you,  words  seem 
utterly  inadequate.  I  cannot  write  you  a  tithe  of  the 
woes  that  have  come  under  my  notice,  and  have  made 
my  heart  bleed  as  I  have  voyaged  along.  Cruelty,  sin, 
and  slavery  seem  to  be  as  millstones  around  the  necks 
of  the  people,  dragging  them  down  into  a  sea  of  sor- 
rows. Never  have  I  felt  more  sympathy  than  now  I 
feel  for  these  poor  brethren  of  ours,  and  never  have 
I  prayed  more  earnestly  than  now  I  pray  that  God  will 
speedily  make  manifest  to  them  that  light  which  is 
the  light  of  life,  even  Jesus  Christ,  our  living  Lord." 

On  his  return  from  this  trip  Grenfell  was  met  with 


GRENFELL  OF  THE  CONGO  207 

sad  news.  Two  of  the  mission  staff  were  dead,  both  the 
engineers  had  died  on  the  way  out,  and  his  father  also 
was  dead.  ''But  we  have  not  lost  heart,"  he  writes, 
"We  cannot  but  beHeve  that  more  help  will  be  speedily- 
forthcoming.  Such  trials  do  not  kill  the  faith  nor 
quench  the  ardour  of  Christians." 

He  now  felt  that  he  must  himself  undertake  the 
building  of  the  Peace.  With  such  help  as  was  avail- 
able he  successfully  accomplished  the  work.  ''She 
lives,  she  lives,"  cried  the  natives  when  they  saw  the 
steamer  move  in  the  water.  The  missionaries  were 
no  less  enthusiastic.  "You  will  have  heard,"  wrote 
Comber,  "how  good  God  has  been  to  us,  especially  in 
the  matter  of  the  steamer — how  dear  old  Grenfell  has 
alone  accomplished  the  gigantic  task  of  reconstructing 
her.  I  can  tell  you  we  are  proud  of  Grenfell,  and 
thankful  to  God  for  him."  Grenfell  himself  said  he 
thought  that  the  Peace  had  been  "prayed  together." 

The  maiden  voyage  of  the  Peace  was  a  complete 
success.  Grenfell  and  Comber  steamed  on  her  half 
way  up  to  Stanley  Falls,  turning  aside  to  explore  sev- 
eral of  the  chief  tributaries.  In  travelling  thus  among 
strange  and  savage  tribes  they  found  themselves  time 
and  again  in  positions  of  peril,  and  Grenfell  complains 
of  the  physical  effort  required  to  keep  on  smiling  when 
things  might  be  on  the  brink  of  tragedy.  It  was  heart- 
breaking to  encounter  ever  fresh  examples  of  an  almost 
incredible  ingenuity  in  wickedness.  But  over  against 
that  was  the  joy  of  "taking  for  the  first  time  the  light 
of  life  into  those  regions  of  darkness,  cruelty,  and 
death." 

For  the  next  year  or  two  Grenfell  led  a  wandering 


208    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

life,  plying  his  little  steamer  to  and  fro  along  the  Congo 
waterways,  and  surveying  the  country  in  the  interests 
of  missionary  advance.  Not  without  many  thrilling 
experiences.  ''Thank  God  we  are  safely  back,"  he 
writes,  at  the  end  of  one  of  these  voyages.  ''It  might 
have  been  otherwise,  for  we  have  encountered  perils 
not  a  few.  But  the  winds,  which  sometimes  were 
simply  terrific,  and  the  rocks,  which  knocked  three 
holes  in  the  steamer  when  we  were  running  away  from 
cannibals,  have  not  wrecked  us.  We  have  been  attacked 
by  natives  about  twenty  different  times,  we  have  been 
stoned  and  shot  at  with  arrows,  and  have  been  the 
mark  for  spears  more  than  we  can  count."  "The 
people  are  wild  and  treacherous,  for  several  times,  after 
a  period  of  apparently  amicable  intercourse,  without  any 
other  cause  than  their  own  sheer  'cussedness,'  as  the 
Yankees  would  say,  they  let  fly  their  poisoned  arrows 
at  us." 

At  one  place  he  encountered  a  tribe  of  friendly  can- 
nibals who  offered  him  a  wife  in  exchange  for  a  fat 
boatman  on  whom  they  had  fixed  their  longing  eyes. 
At  the  Stanley  Falls  he  met  the  notorious  Tippoo  Tib, 
mentioned  by  Stanley,  who  dominated  the  whole  region 
west  of  Tanganyika  and  was  raiding  along  the  banks  of 
the  upper  Congo.  "We  counted,"  he  says,  "twenty 
burned  villages  and  thousands  of  fugitive  canoes." 

The  geographical  importance  of  Grenfell's  work 
was  immense.  He  traced  the  course  of  the  Kasai  River 
southeast  towards  the  Zambesi.  He  ascended  the  great 
tributary,  the  Mubangi,  northwards  till  it  brought  him 
to  the  Sudan,  and  he  showed  that  at  the  great  bend  of 
the  Congo  the  Aruwimi  flows  in  from  the  east  and 


GRENFELL  OF  THE  CONGO  209 

opens  a  waterway  almost  to  Uganda.  These  discov- 
eries raised  the  inspiring  hope  that  the  various  mis- 
sionary forces  working  in  from  the  east  and  west 
coasts  might  soon  join  hands  across  the  continent. 


IV :  The  Belgian  Octopus 

Forces  of  another  sort,  however,  were  at  work.  As 
early  as  1883  Grenfell  notes  the  high-handed  policy  of 
the  Belgian  Expedition.  ''They  have  been  most  un- 
scrupulous, even  in  these  days  of  small  things — what 
will  they  be  with  the  whole  thing  fully  developed?'* 
Alas,  how  little  did  the  Christian  word  imagine  where- 
unto  this  thing  would  grow !  Two  years  later,  on  his 
return  from  an  up-river  voyage,  Grenfell  was  stag- 
gered by  a  letter  from  the  Administrator  intimating 
that  all  his  maps  and  observations  belonged  to  the 
Government,  and  rebuking  his  presumption  in  send- 
ing them  home  to  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 
With  restrained  indignation  he  replies,  "Your  intima- 
tion that  in  the  British  Colonies  subjects  are  not  free  to 
go  where  they  will,  and  that  the  State  has  a  'right  to 
possess  itself  of  the  fruit  of  a  civiHan's  labours,'  comes 
upon  me  as  a  great  surprise." 

But  the  Belgian  octopus  had  fastened  on  the  Congo, 
and  Europe  tamely  suffered  King  Leopold  to  assert  the 
monstrous  doctrine  that  this  vast  region  was  his  pri- 
vate, property,  and  all  its  inhabitants  his  slaves.  How 
charmed  at  first  were  the  natives  to  discover  that  the 
juice  of  the  rubber  vine  had  a  value  in  the  white  man's 
eyes,  and  could  enable  them  to  buy  the  glittering  trin- 


210    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OE  AFRICA 

kets  on  which  their  hearts  were  set !  How  soon,  with 
spirits  crushed  by  forced  labour,  floggings,  imprison- 
ments, mutilations  and  murders,  they  pronounced  their 
verdict  of  despair,  ''Rubber  is  death."  These  things 
were  as  yet  hidden  in  the  future. 

The  year  1887  was  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the 
Mission  as  "the  Black  Year,"  when  six  of  the  mission- 
aries died  in  seven  months.  Grenfell  was  at  home  on 
furlough,  but  on  hearing  of  the  first  four  deaths  he 
hastened  his  return  to  the  field,  although  his  health 
was  precarious.  On  reaching  the  Congo  he  was  met 
with  the  news  of  two  more  deaths.  Friends  of  the 
Mission  at  home  were  stunned  by  these  losses,  and 
spoke  of  withdrawing  from  so  deadly  a  field.  But 
Grenfell  was  resolute.  "We  can't  continue  as  we  are," 
he  wrote.  "It  is  either  advance  or  retreat.  But  if  you 
retreat,  you  must  not  count  on  me.  I  will  be  no  party 
to  it,  and  you  will  have  to  do  without  me.  I  might 
plead  with  the  Churches  that  for  the  sake  of  our  great 
Head,  for  the  sake  of  the  terrible  sin-stricken  'heart 
of  Africa,'  that  out  of  love  for  and  regard  to  the 
memory  of  our  dear  Comber,  who  died  just  a  year  ago, 
that  for  each  and  all  of  these  reasons  they  should  keep 
their  pledges,  but  my  heart  is  hot  within  me,  and  I  feel 
I  cannot  plead.  If  love  and  duty  and  sacred  promises 
are  nothing,  nothing  that  I  can  say  will  avail." 

Faith  triumphed,  and  in  the  next  three  years  the 
blanks  were  filled  and  three  new  stations  were  estab- 
lished on  the  upper  river.  Grenfell  settled  at  Bolobo, 
some  distance  above  Stanley  Pool,  and  it  continued  to 
he  his  home  for  sixteen  years.  He  describes  the  place 
as  "a  sort  of  bottle  neck"  on  the  river,  but  at  the  said 


GRENFELL  OF  THE  CONGO  211 

bottle  neck  the  Congo  is  two  miles  wide,  and  can  be 
called  narrow  only  as  compared  with  its  width  above 
and  below,  where  it  expands  to  six  or  seven  miles. 

In  these  days  Grenfell  was  much  alone,  at  his  sta- 
tion or  voyaging  in  the  Peace.  "Eh,  Tom,  lad,"  he 
exclaims  in  a  letter  to  an  old  friend,  "it  is  a  shrivelling- 
up  sort  of  work,  so  much  alone,  and  surrounded  by  so 
much  sorrow  and  sin."  Yet  he  loves  the  solitude,  for 
he  finds  that  he  has  greater  liberty  in  talking  to  the 
people  when  there  are  "no  critical  whites  about."  He 
has  leisure  for  many  long  thoughts.  "There  is  noth- 
ing like  work  in  the  Mission  field,"  he  writes,  "for 
widening  one's  horizon.  Where  I  am  exactly,  I  don't 
know,  any  more  than  a  good  many  celebrities  seem  to 
know  where  they  are.  I  know  John  3:16,  and  that's 
good  enough  holding-ground  for  my  anchor.  As  you 
say,  Christianity  wants  more  of  Christ's  Spirit  and  less 
Theology.  So  say  I,  my  dear  Tom.  Our  Christianity 
is  too  much  a  matter  of  words,  and  far  too  little  a 
matter  of  works.  One  might  think  that  works  were 
of  the  Devil,  by  the  assiduity  with  which  the  great 
proportion  of  our  Church  members  keep  clear  of  them." 

Wrestling  with  the  difficulties  of  translation  he  can 
find  no  word  in  the  language  to  express  the  idea  of 
forgiveness.  Unhappy  Congo,  where  no  one  has  ever 
known  what  it  was  to  forgive  or  be  forgiven !  Yet  the 
work  is  not  without  encouragement.  In  1889  he 
records,  "At  Bolobo,  on  the  first  Sunday  in  March,  I 
held  the  first  Baptismal  Service  on  the  upper  Congo, 
and  on  Sunday  last  I  opened  the  first  meeting  house. 
Being  Easter  Day  we  had  a  talk  about  the  Resurrection, 


212    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

and  altogether  a  very  enjoyable  service.    About  seventy 
natives  were  present." 

In  1890  the  Belgian  authorities,  in  spite  of  vigorous 
protests  by  the  Mission,  commandeered  the  Peace  for 
their  own  use.  Grenfell  was  profoundly  moved. 
"They  are  taking  my  heart's  blood  in  taking  the  Peace," 
he  said.  "The  best  thing  that  could  happen  to  the 
poor  Peace,  would  be  for  her  to  run  on  a  rock,  and 
sink.  She  will  be  no  more  the  old  Peace,  when  they 
have  done  with  her.  The  soul  has  gone  out  of  her!" 
Then,  starting  to  his  feet,  he  exclaimed,  "I  go  to  Eng- 
land to  agitate."  He  went  to  England,  and  so  effectu- 
ally did  he  agitate  that  the  Belgian  authorities  were 
fain  to  climb  down  with  the  best  grace  they  could,  and 
the  Peace  was  restored  to  her  owners.  The  King  of 
the  Belgians,  perhaps  by  way  of  atonement,  conferred 
on  Grenfell  at  a  personal  interview  the  insignia  of 
"Chevalier  of  the  Order  of  Leopold."  Grenfell  hu- 
morously described  himself  as  feeling  "like  a  barn 
door  with  a  brass  knocker,"  but  the  day  came  when  he 
publicly  declared  that  he  could  no  longer  wear  the  in- 
signia with  honour. 

V:  Sorrows  Public  and  Private 

In  1 89 1,  with  the  consent  of  the  Mission,  Grenfell 
was  appointed  Commissioner  to  settle  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  Congo  Free  State.  This  work,  which 
involved  six  months  of  hard  travel  through  difficult  and 
unknown  country,  he  completed  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  authorities,  neither  he  nor  the  Mission  being  a 
penny  the  richer  by  it. 


GRENFELL  OF  THE  CONGO  213 

On  returning  to  Bolobo  in  September,  1892,  his 
first  task  was  to  build  the  new  mission  steamer,  the 
Goodwill,  which  he  had  brought  out  from  England  a 
year  before,  and  had  expected  would  by  this  time 
have  been  afloat.  Then  the  Peace  was  so  badly  worn 
that  she  had  to  be  half  rebuilt.  Always  the  Mission  was 
short-handed  through  illness  and  death  of  workers. 
Often  Grenfell  was  alone  in  charge  of  the  two  steamers, 
and  the  big  forward  movement  on  which  his  heart 
was  set  was  continually  delayed.  Yet  the  work  made 
progress.  A  printing  press  was  established  at  Bolobo, 
and  the  Church  there  steadily  increased.  Grenfell 
describes  the  happy  time  he  had  with  his  boys  and  girls 
at  the  Christmas  of  1894, ^with  *'a  leg  of  buffalo  in  the 
nick  of  time  for  roast  beef,"  and  a  famous  tug  of  war, 
ending  in  a  broken  rope  and  a  sudden  jumble  of  legs 
and  arms.  But  he  adds,  ''I've  had  anything  but  a 
Merry  Christmas,"  and  he  goes  on  to  speak  of  his  many 
burdens,  chiefly  the  conditions  of  the  Bolobo  people, 
their  superstitions,  lawlessness,  witchcraft  and  quarrel- 
ling. "How  it  is  these  people  have  escaped  the  fate 
of  the  Kilkenny  cats,  I  can't  imagine.  It  can  only  be 
explained  by  the  fact  that  they  are  always  buying 
slaves,  and  that  they  have  not  always  been  so  blood- 
thirsty as  they  are  now.  Poor  Bolobo !  I  wish  I 
could  see  more  readiness  to  accept  what  they  know  and 
feel  to  be  the  Truth,  which  we  try  to  explain  to  them. 
My  heart  is  very,  very  sad  at  times,  as  I  think  of  them 
heaping  up  judgment  against  themselves." 

There  are  moments  when  he  grows  impatient  at 
the  sluggishness  of  the  home  Church.  'T  wish  to  good- 
ness I  could  get  our  folk  fervid  enough  to  embark  on 


214.    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

some  more  or  less  'madcap'  scheme,  such,  for  instance, 
as  the  redemption  of  the  promises  we  made  some 
eighteen  or  nineteen  years  ago,  when  we  talked  of 
Lake  Albert  and  the  Nile.  .  .  .  Don't  think  I've 
dropped  pioneering  because  I'm  tired  of  it.  I  never 
think  of  it  but  my  soul  burns  to  be  up  and  off  again." 
In  1896  he  had  the  joy  of  planting  a  new  station  at 
Yakusu,  near  the  Stanley  Falls,  and  the  remarkable  suc- 
cess of  this  new  mission  was  a  great  comfort  to  him 
amid  the  trials  and  sorrows  of  his  later  years. 

The  Congo  atrocities  were  now  being  brought  more 
and  more  fully  ^to  light.  Into  that  tragic  story  it  is 
impossible  here  to  enter.  Grenfell  was  slow  to  believe 
the  worst.  He  clung  to  the  hope  that  the  excesses  com- 
mitted'by  local  agents  would  be  checked  and  punished 
by  the  Government,  but  at  last  he  was  compelled  to 
realise  the  bitter  truth.  King  Leopold,  that  arch-hypo- 
crite, had  scattered  his  myrmidons  over  the  Congo  with 
orders  to  get  rubber  at  whatever  cost,  and,  while  pro- 
fessing to  spend  thousands  in  philanthropic  efforts  to 
uplift  Central  Africa,  he  was  drawing  in  millions  sat- 
urated with  African  blood. 

The  missionaries  saw  the  tribes  enslaved,  tortured, 
mutilated,  delivered  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
native  soldiers,  many  of  whom  were  cannibals,  and  all 
to  provide  dividends  of  a  thousand  per  cent  to  the 
royal  rubber  company.  What  could  they  do  but  voice 
in  the  ears  of  humanity  the  bitter  cry  of  a  perishing 
people?  This,  of  course,  was  mightily  inconvenient  to 
the  authorities.  So  a  Commission  for  the  Protection 
of  the  Natives  was  appointed,  and  Grenfell  and  other 
missionaries  were  asked  to  serve  on  it.    But  the  whole 


GRENFELL  OF  THE  CONGO  215 

thing  proved  to  be  a  blind,  and  Grenfell  indignantly 
resigned.  ''You  can  easily  imagine,"  he  writes,  ''the 
Protestant  missionary  is  not  a  popular  man  just  now 
on  the  Congo."  Every  obstacle  was  thrown  in  the 
way  of  the  Mission.  Grenfell  was  informed  that  cer- 
tain children  must  be  taken  away  from  his  school  and 
handed  over  to  Roman  Catholic  missions,  because 
"being  a  Roman  Catholic  State  it  had  no  power  to 
place  orphans  under  any  other  than  Roman  Catholic 
tutelage!"  "It  is  very  significant,"  Grenfell  remarks, 
"that  the  way  should  be  opened  up  for  English  Roman 
Catholics,  and  closed  against  us.  Evangelical  Chris- 
tianity does  not  breed  the  dumb  cattle  beloved  of  offi- 
cialdom." 

In  1899  Grenfell  suffered  an  irreparable  loss  in  the 
death  of  his  oldest  daughter,  Pattie,  who  had  come  out 
from  England  while  yet  in  her  teens  to  join  the  Mis- 
sion. After  a  few  months'  work  she  was  struck  down 
with  fever  while  voyaging  with  her  father  in  the  Peace, 
and  only  lived  long  enough  to  reach  Bolobo  and  expire 
in  her  mother's  arms.  She  was  the  fourth  of  their 
children  to  find  a  grave  on  the  Congo.  Next  year  Gren- 
fell's  own  health  gave  way,  and  he  had  to  come  home  to 
England.  It  seemed,  indeed,  as  if  his  day  was  done, 
but  he  rallied,  and  November,  1891,  saw  him  again  on 
the  Congo. 

VI :  The  Joy  of  Harvest 

His  last  term  of  service  was  deeply  shadowed  and 
saddened  by  the  frightful  sufferings  of  the  natives  under 
Belgian  rule,   and  by  the  increasing  hostility  of  the 


216    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

authorities  who  persistently  refused  to  grant  new  sites 
to  the  Mission.  Yet  amid  many  sorrows  he  tasted  of 
the  sweet  joys  of  harvest.  In  1902  he  writes,  ''You 
will  be  glad  to  know  that  here  at  Bolobo,  shorthanded 
as  we  are,  we  are  not  without  evidences  of  progress 
and  blessing.  People  are  more  willing  to  hear,  and 
give  heed  to  the  message  they  have  so  long  slighted.  In 
fact  many  are  professing  to  have  given  their  hearts  to 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  there  are  signs  of  good  times 
coming."  Again  he  writes,  ''Our  services  are  crowded 
as  they  have  never  been  before.  Some  are  beginning 
to  talk  of  building  a  bigger  chapel.  .  .  .  God's  Spirit 
is  manifestly  working  among  the  people.  We  are  all 
compelled  to  allow  it  is  not  our  doing,  but  God's." 

In  his  voyages,  also,  up  the  river,  he  sees  many  signs 
of  happy  change.  Thus  he  writes  of  one  place,  "A 
few  weeks  more  than  twenty  years  have  elapsed  since 
I  first  landed  at  the  foot  of  the  same  cliff,  and  was 
driven  off  at  the  point  of  the  native  spears.  The  recep- 
tion was  very  different  this  time.  The  teacher  and  a 
little  crowd  of  school  children  stood  on  the  beach  to 
welcome  us,  and  I  spent  a  very  pleasant  time  in  the 
village  on  the  plateau  just  beyond."  And  again,  "I 
shall  never  forget  one  evening,  a  few  weeks  ago,  as  we 
were  looking  for  a  good  camping  place  among  the 
reed-covered  sandbanks,  about  half  way  between  this 
and  Yakusu.  There  was  a  threatening  sunset,  and  we 
sought  a  shelter  from  what  promised  to  be  the  stormy 
quarter.  Then  suddenly  we  heard  strike  up,  'AH  Hail 
the  Power,'  from  on  board  one  of  the  big  fishing  canoes 
among  the  reeds.     We  had  not  observed  the  canoe, 


GRENFELL  OF  THE  CONGO  217 

but  the  crew  had  recognised  the  Peace,  and  gave  us 
what  was  to  me  a  glorious  welcome  which  will  long 
remain  a  blessed  memory.  Whose  heart  would  not  be 
moved  to  hear  'Crown  Him  Lord  of  AlF  under  such 
circumstances?  It  was  just  about  this  same  place  that, 
twenty-one  years  ago,  we  came  first  into  view  of  the 
burning  villages  of  the  big  Arab  slave-raid  of  1884. 
I  little  thought  to  live  to  see  so  blessed  a  change,  and 
my  heart  went  forth  in  praise.  Yes,  God's  Kingdom 
is  surely  coming." 

Grenfell  still  had  the  ardent  spirit  of  the  pioneer, 
and  retained  in  a  wonderful  degree  his  physical  vigour. 
He  explored  the  Aruwimi  eastward  to  within  eighty 
miles  of  Uganda.  On  another  voyage  he  ascended 
above  the  Stanley  Falls  and  followed  the  Lualaba 
southward  to  forty  miles  beyond  Nyangwe.  His  great 
desire  was  to  advance  along  the  line  of  the  Aruwimi, 
and  join  hands  with  the  C.M.S.  Mission  in  Uganda, 
but  the  Belgian  authorities  interposed  wearisome  delays 
until  he  was  in  despair. 

At  last,  in  October,  1905,  permission  was  given  to 
settle  at  Yalemba  near  the  mouth  of  the  Aruwimi,  and 
Grenfell  made  haste  to  occupy  the  place.  The  voyage 
up  river  occupied  six  weeks,  and  after  discharging 
his  stores  at  Yalemba,  he  turned  the  steamer  south 
to  Yakusu,  where  his  heart  was  much  refreshed  by 
the  work  of  God.  It  had  been  agreed  that  one  of  the 
missionaries  at  Yakusu  should  become  Grenfell's  col- 
league at  Yalemba,  but  he  confessed  that  he  dared  not 
take  any  of  them  away  from  so  great  a  work.  So  he 
returned  to  Yalemba  alone. 


218    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

VII :  ''The  Death  of  Tata  Finished" 

But  his  strength  was  spent.  After  struggling  on 
for  several  weeks  against  fever  and  increasing  weak- 
ness he  at  last  consented  to  seek  help.  His  native  boys 
gently  carried  him  on  board  the  Peace  and  steamed 
down  the  river  to  the  nearest  station  at  Bapoto.  Here, 
in  spite  of  every  effort,  he  gradually  sank.  Near  the 
end  he  looked  up  at  the  dark  circle  of  sorrowing  faces 
gathered  round  his  bed,  and  said,  "Help  me,  my  chil- 
dren, I  am  dying.  Pray  for  me."  Then  later  he  added, 
^'Jesus  is  mine.    God  is  mine." 

He  died  on  July  ist,  1906.  One  of  his  native  boys, 
recording  the  simple  story  of  his  burial,  concludes 
with  exquisite  beauty,  **Then  we  sang  another  hymn. 
Last  of  all  we  closed  the  grave,  replacing  the  earth. 
And  so  the  death  of  Tata  (Our  father)  finished."  How 
fitly  spoken !  For  Grenfell's  place  is  among  the  living, 
not  the  dead.  While  strength  endured  he  still  advanced, 
leaving  behind  him  the  graves  of  his  children,  set  like 
milestones  along  the  Congo  banks.  His  own  is  now 
the  farthest.  So  he  died.  But  the  inspiration  of  his 
holy  zeal,  and  of  his  love  for  Christ  and  Africa,  remains 
a  deathless  thing. 


CHAPTER  IX 

COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI 

"The  banyan  tree,"  wrote  M.  Coillard,  "is  the  true 
emblem  of  the  Church  of  God.  Each  one  of  its  mighty 
branches  bears  roots,  each  root  that  touches  the  soil 
and  grows  there  becomes  a  new  trunk  which  in  its  own 
turn  must  spread  its  branches  farther  and  strike  new 
roots."  It  is  no  less  a  true  emblem  of  his  own  life 
and  work.  Having  struck  his  roots  deep  in  Basutoland 
and  guided  the  growth  of  the  Church  there  for  twenty 
years  he  became  the  pioneer  of  that  Church's  mission 
to  Barotsiland  and  nourished  the  first  upspringings 
of  Christian  life  in  the  regions  beyond  the  Upper  Zam- 
besi. 

I :  A  Son  of  the  Huguenots 

Franqois  Coillard  was  born  on  July  17,  1834,  at 
Asnieres-les-Bourges,  a  village  in  Central  France.  He 
came  of  peasant  stock,  and  when  only  two  years  old, 
on  the  death  of  his  father  he  was  left  with  his  mother 
in  circumstances  of  deep  poverty.  The  attachment 
between  the  widowed  mother  and  her  son  was  peculiarly 
warm  and  tender.  The  family  belonged  to  the  French 
Protestant  Church  and  Frangois  was  brought  up  in 
an  atmosphere  of  warm  evangelical  piety  and  mission- 
ary enthusiasm.     He  never  forgot  the  joy  of  his  first 

219 


220   THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

missionary  gift,  consisting  of  money  which  he  earned 
by  gathering  dung  off  the  pubHc  road  and  selHng  it  for 
a  trifle  to  the  schoolmaster.  Yet  his  mother  shrank 
from  the  thought  of  giving  up  her  boy  to  the  cause. 

"Oh,  mother,"  he  said  one  day,  **how  splendid  it 
must  be  to  be  a  missionary." 

"Yes,  my  child,  it  is  a  much  finer  thing  than  even 
to  be  a  pastor." 

"Why  should  not  I  become  a  missionary  myself?" 

"Oh,  my  child,"  exclaimed  the  fond  mother  in  sudden 
alarm,  "be  anything  else  you  like  but  not  that.  You 
would  be  lost  to  me." 

Nevertheless  the  idea  persisted,  and  after  he  passed 
through  a  crisis  of  conversion  the  impulse  became  irre- 
sistible. His  mother's  opposition  was  at  length  over- 
come, less  by  argument  than  by  the  influence  of  secret 
prayer.  Rising  in  faith  to  accept  the  sacrifice,  she 
wrote, 

"My  child,  I  understand  now  that  God  is  calling 
you.  Go,  I  will  not  keep  you  back.  I  had  always 
hoped  you  would  be  the  staff  of  my  old  age,  but  after 
all  it  was  not  for  myself  I  reared  you.  And  the  good 
God  will  not  forsake  me  if  He  sends  you  to  the 
heathen." 

He  was  accepted  for  training  by  the  Paris  Mission- 
ary Society  and  on  the  completion  of  his  studies  he 
was  ordained  at  Paris  in  May,  1857.  On  that  occa- 
sion he  closed  his  address  with  these  words,  which 
finely  express  the  spirit  of  the  man: 

"Pray  for  me  that  I  may  be  faithful  to  my  Master, 
faithful  unto  death.  Pray,  oh,  pray,  all  and  earnestly, 
that  I  may  grow  grey  in  His  service,  and  that  He  may 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  221 

grant  me  the  joy  of  seeing  my  ministry  close  only 
with  my  death."  It  was  a  prayer  which  was  answered 
to  the  full. 


II :  Life  in  Basutoland 

His  destination  was  Basutoland,  South  Africa,  where 
the  Paris  Missionary  Society  had  carried  on  a  mission 
since  1833.  The  Basutos,  a  powerful  Bantu  tribe, 
formed  in  those  days  an  independent  kingdom  under 
their  great  chief,  Moshesh.  The  strength  of  their  king- 
dom lay  in  the  mountainous  region  of  the  Drakens- 
berg,  west  from  Durban,  where  Natal  borders  on  Cape 
Colony  and  the  Orange  Free  State.  So  placed,  it  could 
not  fail  to  be  a  storm  centre  in  the  days  when  Boer 
and  Briton  were  contesting  possession  of  the  country 
and  when  tribal  power  was  as  yet  unbroken. 

On  Coillard's  arrival  at  Cape  Town  he  found  war 
raging  in  Basutoland.  The  Boers  of  the  Orange  Free 
State  had  invaded  the  territory  and  burnt  some  of  the 
French  Mission  stations.  On  peace  being  restored  the 
Mission  was  reorganised  and  the  newly  arrived  mis- 
sionary was  sent  to  Leribe  in  the  extreme  north  of 
Basutoland.  The  district  was  under  the  rule  of  Molapo, 
the  ablest  but  most  intractable  of  the  sons  of  Moshesh. 
Moshesh  himself,  a  man  of  intelligence  and  strong 
character,  was  deeply  interested  in  Gospel  truth  and 
before, his  death  made  open  profession  of  his  faith. 
The  case  of  Molapo  his  son  was  very  different.  Clever 
and  well  instructed  in  Bible  truth,  he  had  at  one  time 
made  a  Christian  confession  but  was  now  a  hopeless 
renegade.     He  seemed  to  have  a  double  personality. 


222    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

On  Sunday  he  would  exhort  his  people  to  be  converted, 
while  secretly  he  opposed  and  persecuted.  In  later  life 
he  became  subject  to  fits  of  epilepsy  and  ended  his  days 
little  better  than  a  raging  maniac. 

Into  such  a  situation  the  young  and  inexperienced 
missionary  was  thrown  and  left  to  his  own  resources. 
One  of  his  colleagues  wrote  of  him,  ''Few  young  mis- 
sionaries have  had  a  lonelier  life  or  one  of  more  entire 
self-sacrifice  than  his  during  the  three  years  he  passed 
there  alone  before  Mme.  Coillard  came  out  to  him, 
surrounded  by  an  entirely  heathen  population,  hearing 
nothing  from  morning  till  night  and  often  all  night 
through  but  the  wild  shouts,  the  din  of  their  heathen 
dances,  their  drunken  brawls.  His  food  at  that  time 
consisted  of  native  bread  with  thick  milk  and  pumpkin. 
I  remember  him  spending  days  knee  deep  in  water, 
cutting  the  reeds  with  which  to  cover  his  first  little 
cottage.  At  that  time  there  was  not  a  single  Christian 
in  the  whole  district  with  whom  to  hold  Christian  fel- 
lowship." 

So  unpromising  was  the  field  that  the  Conference 
of  i860  proposed  to  give  up  the  station  of  Leribe. 
Coillard,  however,  was  resolute.  *'Do  they  think  I  am 
made  of  wood,  with  a  heart  of  stone?  Do  they  not 
know  that  it  is  just  because  I  have  suffered  at  Leribe 
that  my  heart  is  so  much  attached  to  it?" 

In  February,  1861,  he  was  married  at  Cape  Town 
to  Christina  Mackintosh,  who  had  come  out  from 
Scotland  to  join  him.  It  was  the  fulfilment  of  a  long 
deferred  hope  and  the  beginning  of  a  perfect  married 
life  of  thirty  years.  Mme.  Coillard,  the  daughter  of 
a  Scottish  minister,  high  spirited  and  fearless,  saga- 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  223 

cious  and  tactful,  above  all  of  an  intensely  religious 
and  devoted  spirit,  became  the  never  failuig  helper  and 
solace  of  her  husband,  and  the  companion  of  all  his 
wanderings  till,  worn  with  toil  and  travel,  she  was 
laid  to  rest  under  a  lone  tree  beyond  the  Zambesi. 

The  work  of  the  mission  went  forward  prosperously 
and  they  had  the  joy  of  baptising  their  first  converts. 
Owing  to  the  hostility  of  the  chief  and  other  difficul- 
ties the  building  of  a  permanent  house  was  at  first 
impossible  and  for  two  years  they  made  their  home 
in  the  wagon  and  a  tent.  When  at  last  a  house  of 
three  rooms  was  finished  Mme.  Coillard  "felt  like  a 
princess."  They  were  not  destined,  however,  to  enjoy 
it  long. 

Ill :  War  and  Exile 

In  1864  war  again  broke  out,  Boer  commandos 
raided  the  country,  and  the  wildest  disorder  prevailed 
everywhere.  Quarter  was  neither  given  nor  received. 
Boer  and  Basuto  shot  each  other  at  sight.  For  months 
the  Coillards  were  isolated  in  a  war-tortured  country 
within  sight  of  burning  villages  and  bloodshed.  Tying 
a  white  flag  on  the  end  of  a  long  reed,  M.  Coillard 
started  across  country  for  the  home  mail  which  had 
not  come  to  hand  for  six  months.  When  about  sixty 
miles  from  home  he  was  struck  down  with  fever  and 
appeared  to  be  dying.  His  wife,  on  hearing  the  news, 
immediately  saddled  a  horse  in  spite  of  the  entreaties 
of  the*  terrified  natives,  who  feared  equally  to  accom- 
pany her  or  to  be  left  behind  unprotected.  After  a 
terrible  night  ride  she  reached  her  husband  and  nursed 
him  back  to  health. 


224    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

Barely  had  they  returned  home  when  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Orange  Free  State  resolved  to  expel  all 
missionaries  from  Basutoland.  No  reason  was  ever 
given  for  this  act  of  oppression  nor  was  any  notice  taken 
of  the  .appeal  of  the  missionaries  for  an  inquiry.  A 
commando  appeared  one  day  at  Leribe  to  execute  the 
order. 

"Leave  nothing  behind,"  said  the  commandant,  "for 
you  will  never  come  back  here." 

After  a  painful  journey  through  the  Drakensbergs 
the  exiled  missionaries  reached  Natal,  where  they  lived 
for  the  next  two  years,  and  laboured  among  the  Zulus. 
They  also  paid  a  visit  to  Dr.  Moffat  at  Kuruman. 
Writing  of  this  visit  to  his  mother  in  France,  M.  Coil- 
lard  says,  ''Do  you  remember  the  long  evenings  when 
I  used  to  read  to  you  Mr.  Moffat's  book  about  Africa 
while  you  stripped  the  hemp  ?  Did  you  ever  think  then 
that  I  should  come  to  Africa  and  that  I  should  see  Mr. 
Moffat  and  his  station,  Kuruman?  The  Lord's  ways 
are  wonderful." 

IV:  Revival 

In  1869  Britain  established  a  protectorate  over 
Basutoland  and  the  missionaries  were  enabled  to  return 
to  their  work.  The  Coillards  found  Leribe  practically 
in  ruins,  but  to  their  great  joy  the  spiritual  side  of  the 
work  had  suffered  no  loss.  The  troubles  rising  out 
of  the  war  had  led  to  a  revival  of  religion  among  the 
Basutos.  The  paramount  chief,  Moshesh,  who  was 
dying,  declared  himself  a  Christian.  Nathanael,  his 
nephew,  one  of  his  trustiest  counsellors  and  the  bravest 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  225 

of  his  chiefs,  who  had  long  been  a  Christian  at  heart 
and  a  true  friend  of  the  Coillards,  was  baptised  about 
this  time.  In  Europe  the  Franco-Prussian  war  was 
raging  and  Nathanael  heard  something  of  the  anxieties 
and  privations  of  M.  Coillard's  mother.  One  day  he 
brought  an  ox  as  a  present  for  her,  and,  with  it,  a 
touching  letter  in  which  he  said, 

*'My  Mother,  I  am  Nathanael  Makotoko,  I  salute 
you  in  the  love  of  the  Lord.  Since  the  war  has  broken 
out  in  France  my  heart  is  full  of  sorrow.  I  know  what 
war  is,  what  sufferings  it  brings.  I  thought  of  you. 
.  .  .  You  think  you  have  only  one  son  in  Leribe 
because  you  sent  only  one.  No,  my  Mother,  you  have 
two,  the  second  is  myself, ^Nathanael.  It  is  you  who 
have  given  me  life  in  the  Lord,  for  it  is  you  who 
gave  birth  to  the  servant  of  God,  my  beloved  pastor, 
who  came  to  draw  me  out  of  darkness.  You  have 
many  children  in  Leribe  and  you  will  have  many  more 
yet."  Surely  these  words  must  have  brought  to  the 
aged  mother's  heart  some  foretaste  of  that  ''hundred- 
fold" which  the  Lord  promised  to  those  who  have 
given  up  their  dearest  for  His  sake. 

The  power  of  the  Gospel  was  felt  even  by  the  igno- 
rant and  the  aged.  A  poor  old  Matabele  woman,  a 
derelict  from  her  tribe,  was  at  first  dull  and  listless. 
She  could  not  pray,  she  said,  for  she  did  not  know  the 
Basuto  language.  When  she  was  told  that  she  could 
pray  just  as  well  in  her  own  tongue  she  exclaimed  in 
amazement,  *'Do  you  really  mean  that  God  understands 
my  language?"  When  she  was  assured  of  this  it 
opened  all  the  floodgates  of  her  pent-up  heart. 

"Perhaps  you  think  I  am  old,"  she  said.     *'No,  I 


226    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

have  grown  a  young  girl  since  I  began  to  serve  Christ." 
She  spoke  of  her  past  Hfe  of  heathenism  and  beer- 
drinking,  but  she  added,  '*I  did  not  know  any  better. 
I  had  not  yet  heard  that  I  had  a  Father." 

The  most  notable  fruit  of  this  revival  was  the  birth 
of  a  missionary  spirit  among  the  Basuto  Christians, 
and  it  was  determined  to  break  new  ground  in  the 
Banyai  country,  immediately  to  the  north  of  the  Trans- 
vaal. A  little  band  of  Basuto  evangelists  was  sent 
out  but  they  were  forced  to  return  after  having  been 
imprisoned  for  some  time  in  Pretoria.  The  Mission 
Council  then  resolved  to  ask  M.  Coillard  to  lead  the 
expedition  in  person.  The  proposal  came  upon  the 
Coillards  like  a  thunderbolt,  for  they  had  all  their 
preparations  made  for  a  well  earned  furlough  in 
Europe,  the  first  after  twenty  years  of  service.  Noth- 
ing is  more  characteristic  of  them  than  the  spirit  in 
which  they  met  this  crisis. 

V :  "With  Such  an  Escort  We  Ccm  Go  Anywhere''' 

M.  Coillard  wrote,  "The  thought  of  leading  a  wan- 
dering life  full  of  perils  and  adventures,  and  leaving 
our  station  for  so  long,  appalled  us.  However,  we 
fixed  a  day  for  our  final  decision  and  redoubled  the 
ardour  of   our  prayers.     The   evening  of   this  very 

day,  our  friend  C ,  who  was  not  at  all  in  sympathy 

with  the  appeal  they  had  addressed  to  us,  and  who  had 
not  the  least  idea  that  the  moment  had  come  for  us 
to  decide,  read  the  91st  Psalm  to  us.  Never  had  it 
seemed  so  beautiful.  When,  after  marking  the  mag- 
nificent promises,  which  came  so  aptly  one  by  one,  our 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  227 

brother  came  to  verse  eleven,  'He  shall  give  His  angels 
charge  over  thee,'  the  climax  was  reached.  My  wife 
and  I  looked  at  each  other  and  understood.  The  mo- 
ment we  were  alone,  'Well  ?'  I  said  to  her. 

*'  With  such  an  escort  we  can  go  anywhere,'  she 
replied. 

"We  knelt  down,  our  resolution  was  taken,  peace 
and  joy  returned  to  our  hearts." 

Be  it  remembered,  these  were  not  youthful  enthusi- 
asts ready  to  dare  anything  in  blind  inexperience,  they 
were  veterans,  spent  with  years  of  service,  who  were 
called  to  greater  effort  and  costlier  sacrifice.  It  was 
an  act  of  supreme  devotion  to  pluck  up  their  home  life 
by  the  roots  and  face,  at -their  age,  the  hardships  of 
pioneering. 

In  April  i6,  1877,  the  expedition  had  an  enthusi- 
astic send-off.  The  young  Basuto  Church  cherished 
the  rosiest  dreams  of  its  success,  but  the  leaders  were 
under  no  delusion  as  to  the  task  before  them.  As  the 
wagon  began  to  move  Mme.  Coillard  turned  to  her 
husband  and  said,  ''We  have  weighed  anchor,  God 
knows  where  we  shall  land.  But  he  knoweth  my  wan- 
derings, my  tears  are  in  His  book."  As  the  event 
proved,  almost  ten  years  were  to  elapse  ere,  in  God's 
providence,  they  had  again  a  settled  home.  They  had 
embarked  on  a  vaster  and  not  less  perilous  Odyssey 
than  Homer's. 

The  story  of  the  expedition  forms  an  almost  incred- 
ible tale  of  adventure  and  of  toil.  After  getting  clear 
of  the  Transvaal  they  had  to  cut  a  virgin  path  north- 
wards towards  Mashonaland.  Their  reception  at  the 
hands  of  the  Banyai  was  very  different  from  what  they 


228    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

had  been  led  to  expect.  The  chiefs  were  hostile  and  the 
people  pillaged  their  goods.  Once,  when  the  lumber- 
ing wagon  stuck  fast  in  a  ravine,  it  seemed  as  if  the 
whole  party  would  be  massacred  on  the  spot.  Round 
them  surged  a  mob  of  savages,  brandishing  spears, 
howling  threats,  snatching  at  the  goods  on  the  wagon. 
Mme.  Coillard  deliberately  sat  down  under  a  tree  and 
began  to  sew,  with  an  excited  warrior  whirling  his  axe 
over  her  head.  Her  husband  meantime  was  imploring 
and  restraining  the  Basutos  who  were  for  seizing  their 
rifles,  "to  die  like  men."  He  knew  that  the  first  shot 
fired  would  be  the  signal  of  the  end.  At  last  the  ter- 
rified oxen  lurched  forward  and  the  mission  party 
were  snatched,  as  if  by  the  very  hand  of  God,  from 
the  jaws  of  death.  Years  after,  when  in  a  similar 
position  of  peril  on  the  upper  Zambesi,  M.  Coillard 
told  the  story  to  his  trembling  followers,  and  con- 
cluded, "Well,  my  friends,  mark  my  words.  It  will 
be  just  the  same  here.  Not  a  hair  of  our  heads  will 
fall  to  the  ground."    And  so  it  proved  in  the  issue. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Mme.  Coillard  was  smitten 
with  sunstroke,  from  the  effects  of  which  she  never 
entirely  recovered.  When  she  regained  consciousness 
she  reproached  herself  for  "the  sting  of  my  heart  as 
I  opened  my  eyes  once  more  on  the  light  of  this  world." 
She  added,  "I  did  not  realise  till  then  how  very  unut- 
terably weary  I  had  become."  A  band  of  Matabele 
warriors  now  appeared  on  the  scene,  before  whom  the 
Banyai  grovelled  in  abject  terror.  Coillard  then  learned 
that  Lobengula  held  the  Banyai  tribes  in  subjection 
and  resented  the  mission  entering  his  territory  by  a 
back  door.    The  whole  party  were  made  prisoners  and 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  229 

hurried  westward  to  Bulawayo,  which  they  hardly 
dared  to  hope  they  would  leave  alive.  Fortunately  their 
knowledge  of  Zulu  enabled  them  to  converse  freely 
with  Lobengula,  and  even  to  convince  that  bloodthirsty 
tyrant  of  the  honesty  of  their  intentions.  After  three 
anxious  months  of  captivity  they  were  sent  out  of 
Matabeleland  by  the  southwest,  and  came  into  Khama's 
country  where  they  were  welcomed  by  that  Christian 
chief  and  his  people.  The  question  of  the  future  of 
the  expedition  now  became  pressing.  It  seemed  as  if 
no  course  was  open  but  to  return  south  to  Basutoland, 
y2t,  on  the  other  hand,  M.  Coillard  felt  that  the  finger 
of  God  pointed  unmistakably  to  the  far  north.  The  cir- 
cumstances were  indeed  remarkable.  Many  years  be- 
fore, a  branch  of  the  Basuto  people  had  fought  their 
way  north,  crossed  the  Zambesi,  and  established  their 
sway  over  a  wide  region  in  its  upper  basin.  They 
became  known  to  the  world  as  the  Makololo,  whom  Liv- 
ingstone found  the  dominant  power  on  the  upper  Zam- 
besi. Since  his  day  their  vassals,  the  Barotsi,  had  risen 
in  revolt  and  exterminated  them,  but  their  name  was 
still  held  in  respect,  and  their  language,  Sesuto,  was 
spoken  throughout  the  country.  Here  surely  was 
the  predestined  field  for  the  missionary  labours  of  the 
Basuto  Church,  a  field  where  no  new  language  had  to 
be  learned,  no  new  translations  to  be  made. 

The  difficulties  in  the  way,  however,  were  most  for- 
midable. The  route  to  the  Zambesi  lay  across  the  great 
Kalahari  desert.  A  previous  attempt  to  found  a  mis- 
sion among  the  Makololo  had  failed  disastrously.  In 
response  to  Livingstone's  appeal,  Helmore  and  Price 
of  the  L.M.S.  had  led  an  expedition  to  the  north,  but 


230   THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

almost  all  perished,  possibly  by  poison,  and  the  mission 
had  to  be  abandoned.  Since  the  revolt  of  the  Barotsi 
the  whole  region  of  the  upper  Zambesi  was  reported  to 
be  the  scene  of  constant  warfare  and  bloodshed.  Yet 
all  this  only  made  brighter,  by  contrast,  the  vision  of 
faith.  M.  Coillard  wrote  in  his  journal,  ''How  splen- 
did will  be  the  day,  which  I  see  already  dawning,  when 
all  the  tribes  of  Central  Africa  will  know  Jesus  and 
sing  His  praises.  It  will  be  a  sight  for  angels.  The 
sacrifice  of  a  life  is  a  small  thing  to  contribute  to  hasten 
that  glorious  day." 

A  start  was  made  in  June,  1878,  and  after  a  trek 
of  two  months  Leshoma  was  reached,  a  point  on  the 
Zambesi  some  miles  above  the  Victoria  Falls.  Leav- 
ing his  wife  at  Leshoma,  Coillard  crossed  and  travelled 
up  the  river  to  Shesheke,  the  home  of  some  powerful 
chiefs  of  the  Barotsi.  He  opened  communication  with 
Lev/anika,  the  King  of  the  Barotsi,  and  requested  per- 
mission to  settle  in  his  country.  Lewanika,  however, 
was  engaged  in  a  desperate  struggle  to  maintain  his 
throne  and  could  give  no  definite  answer. 

Meantime  the  mission  party  suffered  terribly  from 
fever.  Coillard  himself  lay  between  life  and  death. 
Khosana,  one  of  the  Basuto  evangelists,  died,  and 
Eleazar,  another  of  them,  fell  ill.  At  last  a  message 
arrived  from  Lewanika  granting  the  desired  permis- 
sion. "God  be  praised,"  exclaimed  Eleazar.  "The 
door  is  open."  Then,  as  he  felt  himself  sinking,  he 
added,  "My  grave  will  be  the  fingerpost  of  the  mission." 

"Do  you  regret  having  come?"  asked  M.  Coillard 
sorrowfully. 

"Oh,  no,"  he  replied,  "I  do  not  belong  to  myself. 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  231 

It  is  to  the  Lord  I  belong.  It  is  His  business,  not 
mine." 

So  died  "a  sure  counsellor  and  a  precious  friend,"  as 
M.  Coillard,  not  without  good  reason,  calls  him. 

It  now  became  necessary  to  return  to  Basutoland,  to 
organise  and  equip  the  Barotsi  mission.  The  joy  of 
the  home  coming  to  Leribe  was  deeply  shadowed  by 
sorrow.  In  the  long  two  years'  trek  three  of  the  four 
Basuto  evangelists  had  died.  M.  Coillard  scarcely 
knew  how  to  meet  their  friends,  but  the  aged  father 
of  one  of  them  grasped  his  hand  and  said,  "My  father, 
do  not  grieve.  I  offered  the  Lord  the  best  thing  I  had, 
and  He  has  accepted  my  sacrifice." 

In  December,  1879,  the  Coillards  left  for  their  long 
delayed  furlough  in  Europe.  It  proved  one  of  their 
most  arduous  campaigns.  The  funds  of  the  Paris 
Missionary  Society  were  so  depleted  that  the  Com- 
mittee could  not  face  the  opening  of  a  new  field.  Thus 
it  fell  entirely  on  M.  Coillard  to  raise  every  penny  of 
the  funds  required  for  the  Barotsi  mission.  The  work 
was  hard  and,  to  his  sensitive  nature,  distasteful,  yet 
he  carried  it  through  with  complete  success,  winning 
the  confidence  of  the  Churches  in  France,  England,  and 
Scotland  by  his  invincible  faith  and  the  charm  of  his 
personality. 

Back  in  Basutoland  in  1882  he  encountered  difficul- 
ties of  another  sort.  War  had  broken  out  again.  Le- 
ribe Mission  Station  had  been  plundered  and  the  vil- 
lage burnt.  Indeed  in  the  whole  district,  with  a  popu- 
lation of  35,000,  not  a  village  was  left  standing.  Even 
after  peace  was  restored  it  seemed  hopeless  to  stir  up 
the  scattered  and  impoverished  Church  to  a  fresh  inter- 


232    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

est  in  Barotsiland.  "How  can  people  go  to  the  Zam- 
besi," it  was  asked,  *'when  there  is  so  much  to  do  in 
Basutoland?"  Only  the  driving  power  of  an  uncon- 
querable faith  carried  the  mission  forward.  **A  mis- 
sionary enterprise,"  wrote  M.  Coillard  at  this  time, 
'is  not  like  a  balloon,  launched  into  the  air  amid  admir- 
ing crowds  and  then  left  to  take  its  chance. 

**But  tasks  in  hours  of  insight  willed 
Can  be  through  days  of  gloom  fulfilled." 

VI :  Among  the  Barotsi 

At  last  preparations  were  completed  and  in  January, 
1884,  the  expedition  left  Leribe  for  the  Zambesi. 
Accompanying  the  Coillards  were  their  niece,  Elise 
Coillard;  M,  Jeanmairet,  a  young  Swiss  missionary; 
two  artisans,  and  four  Basuto  evangelists  with  their 
families.  Passing  nortlTJ  through  Khama's  country 
they  found  a  message  of  welcome  from  Lewanika,  but 
by  the  time  they  reached  the  Zambesi  Lewanika  was 
dethroned  and  civil  war  raging.  A  weary  year  of 
uncertainty  followed.  M.  Coillard  speaks  of  "an  utter 
lassitude,  bodi  moral  and  physical.  It  seemed  to  us 
sometimes  that  the  springs  had  been  overstrained, 
and  the  very  sources  of  life  dried  up."  The  passage 
of  the  Zambesi  was  at  length  safely  accomplished  and 
the  missionary  band  advanced  to  Shesheke,  only  to 
find  themselves  in  the  midst  of  bloodshed  and  terror. 
The  very  first  night  after  they  crossed  the  river  some 
fugitive  women  who  clung  to  Mme.  Coillard  for  refuge 
were  dragged  off  and  butchered. 

Slavery,  witchcraft  and  all  the  oppressive  evils  of 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  233 

African  heathenism  prevailed  in  Barotsiland.  Thiev- 
ing seemed  to  be  a  universal  vice.  Recounting  some 
of  his  losses,  M.  Coillard  half  humorously  offers  them 
as  a  proof  that  "we  have  made  no  mistake  in  bringing 
the  Gospel  to  the  Zambesi."  This  faith  upheld  him 
through  everything.  He  had  in  fullest  measure  the 
mystic  insight  which  discerns  the  hand  of  God  in  all 
events,  even  the  most  untoward.  It  was  this  which 
made  him  write,  after  seeing  his  wagon  overturned  at 
a  ford  and  all  his  stores  and  books  sunk  in  the  water, 
"The  one  thing  that  shone  out  amid  the  tumult  of  my 
thoughts  was  a  lively  sense  of  God's  goodness."  Yet 
there  were  hours  of  gloom  and  of  reaction.  Thus  he 
writes  again :  "Night  fell.  But  a  darkness  deeper  than 
that  of  night  oppressed  my  spirit.  I  was  seized  with 
an  awful  and  overpowering  sense  of  helplessness,  dis- 
tress and  mental  anguish." 

The  station  at  Shesheke  was  barely  established  when 
M.  Coillard  left  it  in  charge  of  M.  Jeanmairet,  who 
had  now  married  Elise  Coillard,  and  himself  pushed 
on,  far  up  the  river  to  Sefule,  near  the  King's  capital 
of  Lealuyi.  It  was  one  of  the  most  toilsome  of  all 
his  journeys,  for  it  meant  dragging  the  wagon 
through  a  wooded  and  waterlogged  country  infested 
with  tsetse  fly.  Mme.  Coillard  joined  him  in  January, 
1887,  and  once  again,  after  ten  years  of  a  wandering 
life,  they  were  settled  in  what  might  be  called  a  home. 
Here  they  set  to  work,  with  failing  strength  but  with 
unflagging  zeal  and  devotion,  to  reclaim  the  wilderness 
of  heathenism  around  them.  The  physical  conditions 
were  new  and  more  arduous  than  in  Basutoland.  The 
country  was  a  vast  and  steaming  flat,  inundated  for 


234^    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

some  months  every  year  and  always  feverstricken,  a 
country  where  travel  was  difficult  and  where  strenuous 
exertion  was  impossible. 

VII :  African  Royalty 

Lewanika  had  by  this  time  regained  his  throne  and 
mercilessly  slaughtered  his  enemies.  On  the  whole 
he  was  favourable  to  the  mission,  though  with  variable 
moods  and  fits  of  suspicion.  He  sent  some  of  his 
children  to  school,  notably  his  son  Litia,  who  now 
reigns  as  the  first  Christian  King  of  Barotsiland.  The 
character  of  Lewanika,  his  slow  emergence  out  of 
savagery  and  his  wavering  approaches  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  make  an  interesting  study.  Being  told  that 
God  hates  the  shedding  of  blood,  he  one  day  sends  a 
message  that  he  will  shed  no  more  blood,  and  there- 
fore, having  captured  some  children  of  his  enemies,  he 
has  only  poisoned  them.  Later  he  sends  a  herald  to 
the  school  to  warn  the  pupils  that  all  who  play  truant 
or  do  not  learn  their  lessons  will  be  throttled.  Grad- 
ually he  came  to  be  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the  Coil- 
lards  whom  he  both  loved  and  trusted.  More  and 
more  he  seemed  to  feel  a  sense  of  isolation  from  his 
own  people  and  their  ways.  Sitting  in  the  little  mis- 
sion house  he  said,  "This  is  my  home.  I  have  twenty- 
one  wives  but  no  home!"  Perhaps,  had  he  felt  him- 
self strong  enough  to  resist  his  chiefs,  he  might  have 
made  profession  of  the  Christian  faith.    Who  can  tell? 

The  royal  pupils  in  the  school  were  at  first  a  source 
of  much  annoyance.  Their  attendants  procured  food 
for  them  by  the  simple  process  of  plundering  the  neigh- 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  235 

bouring  villages,  so  that  the  people  began  to  desert  the 
locality.  The  Princess  Mpololoa  required  three  slaves 
to  attend  her,  one  to  hold  her  book,  one  behind  to  lean 
against,  and  one  in  front  to  act  as  a  writing  desk !  The 
dignity  of  these  young  savages  was  jealously  guarded. 
A  native  having  accidentally  brushed  against  a  little 
daughter  of  Lewanika  was  slain  on  the  spot  by  the 
child's  attendants.  Such  were  the  awful  depths  in 
which  the  first  foundations  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
had  to  be  laid. 

No  picture  of  court  life  in  Barotsiland  would  be 
complete  without  mention  of  Lewanika's  sister,  Mok- 
wae,  who  reigned  as  Queen  in  her  own  right.  She  was 
a  stout,  comical  looking  figure,  but  a  most  formidable 
personage.  Her  ninth  husband  followed  everywhere 
at  her  heels  submissively,  with  many  a  trembling 
thought,  doubtless,  of  his  unfortunate  predecessors, 
none  of  whom  had  died  a  natural  death.  Mokwae  had 
been  known,  in  moments  of  passion,  to  seize  a  sword 
and  sweep  a  man's  head  off  at  one  blow.  Yet  with 
the  eternal  feminine  in  her  savage  breast.  ''What 
lovely  eyes  you  have  got,"  was  her  first  greeting  to 
M.  Coillard.  To  his  wife  she  expatiated  on  the  glories 
of  the  wardrobe  she  possessed  before  t!ie  war,  *'a  grey 
hat  with  green  and  red,  and  a  long  dress.  All  the 
King's  wives  had  just  the  same,  and  really  we  looked 
just  like  men."  These  hats  and  dresses  had  perished, 
with  much  else,  in  the  war,  and  Mme.  Coillard  was 
welcomed  as  a  dressmaker  and  milliner! 

In  1890  there  occurred  a  momentous  event  in  the 
history  of  Barotsiland.  An  envoy  from  the  British 
South  Africa  Company  arrived  to  negotiate  a  treaty 


236    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

with  Lewanika.  The  King  himself  was  favourable  to 
British  suzereignty,  influenced  doubtless  by  the  expe- 
rience of  Khama,  who  sent  a  message,  **I  have  tasted 
of  a  delicious  dish  and  I  share  it  with  you."  The 
matter  was  discussed  in  full  council  of  the  chiefs,  and 
M.  Coillard,  while  carefully  disclaiming  all  personal 
interest,  was  able  to  give  such  explanations  as  led  at 
length  to  the  signing  of  the  treaty.  But  for  his  pres- 
ence the  result  would  have  been  very  different.  Thus 
in  great  measure  through  his  work  and  the  influence 
of  his  character  a  kingdom  as  large  as  France  was 
peacefully  added  to  the  Empire.  To  the  Barotsi  them- 
selves it  was  an  immense  benefit  that  by  his  work  of 
Christian  education  they  were  in  some  degree  prepared 
to  meet  the  incoming  tide  of  the  white  man's  civilisation. 

VIII :  ''That  Delicious  Rain" 

In  1891  Mme.  Coillard  died.  The  last  years  of  her 
life  had  been  a  continual  struggle  against  fever  and 
increasing  weakness.  All  her  strength,  to  the  last 
ounce,  she  gave  to  the  work,  devoting  herself  prin- 
cipally to  the  women  and  children.  It  was  October 
and  the  rains  had  not  yet  come.  The  earth  was  red- 
hot  and  the  air  was  stifling.  The  night  before  she 
died  the  rain  broke. 

"Place  me  at  the  window,'*  she  said,  "to  let  me  hear 
that  delicious  rain." 

It  was  a  touch  of  God's  mercy  at  the  last.  And 
she  had  the  greater  privilege,  too,  of  hearing  the  first 
showers  of  spiritual  blessing.  Often  she  had  prayed, 
"Oh,  that  Thou  wouldest  rend  the  heavens  and  come 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  237 

down/'  but  the  spiritual  firmament  was  as  brass  and 
the  earth  iron.  The  last  year  had  been  the  hardest. 
"Never,  during  our  thirty  years  together,"  wrote  M. 
Coillard,  *'had  we  passed  through  so  many  sufferings 
and  distresses.  She  often  said,  'What  a  year!  I 
wonder  how  it  will  all  end.'  Everything  seemed  against 
us,  everything." 

The  Sunday  before  her  death  Mme.  Coillard  was 
able  to  attend  a  service  at  Lealuyi.  Litia  had  just 
returned  from  a  visit  to  Khama's  country  and  he  rose 
and  declared  himself  a  Christian.  "My  father,"  he 
said,  beaming  with  joy,  "I  am  no  longer  the  Litia  of 
former  days.  I  am  converted.  I  have  found  Jesus." 
While  he  spoke,  Mokamba,^a  young  man  of  the  royal 
family,  broke  down  and  sobbed  aloud.  Mme,  Coillard 
was  deeply  touched  and  thrilled  with  joy. 

"A  Morotsi  weeping,"  she  exclaimed,  "and  weeping 
for  his  sins.  I  thought  a  Morotsi  had  no  tears  to  shed. 
It  is  a  sight  I  would  have  travelled  three  hundred  miles 
to  see." 

On  Monday  she  said,  "Take  me  back  to  Sefula.  It 
is  there  I  would  die."  Her  last  words  to  her  husband 
were,  "Do  be  in  earnest,  do."  Well  might  he  say  of 
her  that  her  life  was  an  alabaster  box  of  ointment, 
exceeding  precious,  which  she  broke  and  poured  out 
upon  the  Saviour's  feet. 

IX:  The  Wedge  of  the  Gospel 

After  the  death  of  his  wife  M.  Coillard  felt  himself 
a  lonely  and  homeless  man,  yet  twelve  toilsome  years 
were  before  him  ere  he  reached  his  rest.     In  1892  he 


238    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

moved  the  mission  station  to  Leafuyi,  and  his  influence 
over  the  King  and  his  people  steadily  increased.  **In 
spite  of  all  our  disasters,"  he  wrote,  *'I  have  the  pro- 
found conviction  that  we  have  already  forced  the  wedge 
of  the  Gospel  into  the  social  system  of  this  nation.  It 
is  for  others  to  drive  it  home  with  redoubled  blows,  and 
this  mighty  paganism,  solid  and  formidable  as  it 
appears,  will  break  up,  as  it  has  done  in  all  times  and 
in  all  countries."  The  losses  of  the  mission  had  indeed 
been  grievous,  and  many  graves  had  been  dug  beside 
the  Zambesi,  but  undoubtedly  the  work  was  telling. 
The  King  appointed  one  of  the  converts  to  be  the 
Gambella,  or  Prime  Minister,  expressly  to  lead  his 
people  along  the  path  of  reform.  Slowly  but  surely 
the  wedge  was  pushing  home. 

In  1895  M.  Coillard  undertook  a  long  journey  up 
the  river  to  break  ground  among  the  new  and  unknown 
tribes.  He  travelled  in  canoes  provided  by  Lewanika, 
and  was  accompanied  by  the  Gambella  and  other  con- 
verts. Something  was  done  to  allay  the  suspicion  of 
hostile  tribes  and  the  homeward  voyage  down  the  river 
was  gladdened  by  the  work  of  grace  among  the  boat- 
men. Returning  to  Lealuyi  seriously  ill  M.  Coillard 
was  compelled  to  leave  at  once  for  South  Africa,  where 
a  skilful  operation  was  the  means  of  restoring  him  to 
a  measure  of  health. 

From  the  Cape  he  came  home  on  his  second  and 
last  furlough.  Once  again,  through  two  years  of  inces' 
sant  travel,  he  charmed  Europe  and  pressed  upon  the 
Protestant  Churches  the  crying  need  of  Central  Africa. 
It  was  while  he  was  home  on  this  visit  that  he  was 
found  to  have  given  anonymously  all  the  money  he 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  239 

possessed  to  the  Zambesi  Mission.  His  friends  felt 
that  he  might  well  retire,  but  his  own  heart  told  him 
that  work  still  waited  him,  and  a  grave,  beside  the 
Zambesi.  "My  heart  is  still  young,"  he  wrote,  *'but 
the  old  tent  is  wearing  out.  I  should  like  to  have  wings, 
to  travel  about  the  country  and  publish  the  Good 
News." 

Having  raised  funds  and  enlisted  a  band  of  volun- 
teers he  returned  to  Africa.  There  was  time  for  a 
brief  visit  to  his  old  home  in  Basutoland.  The  sadness 
of  farewell  was  mixed  with  the  joy  of  witnessing  the 
amazing  progress  ©f  the  Basuto  Church.  He  naturally 
saw  in  this  ''the  seal  of  God  placed  upon  the  call  we 
felt  we  had  received  to  the  Zambesi."  In  many  respects 
a  new  day  was  dawning  for  Central  Africa.  The  mis- 
sion party  travelled  to  Bulawayo  by  the  Cape  to  Cairo 
Railway,  where  M.  Coillard  lunched  at  Government 
House  on  the  very  spot  where  Lobengula  had  held  him 
a  captive  at  his  kraal. 

Arrived  at  his  field  of  labour  he  was  at  once  plunged 
into  a  sea  of  troubles  which  made  his  closing  years 
among  the  most  trying  and  painful  of  his  life.  There 
were  bad  seasons  and  political  complications  in  the 
country.  In  the  mission,  deaths  of  beloved  friends 
and  valued  workers  threatened  for  a  time  to  bring  the 
whole  work  to  a  standstill.  In  three  years,  out  of 
twenty-four  young  recruits,  eight  had  died  and  eleven 
had  been  invalided  home.  Only  five  remained  in  the 
field. »  But  perhaps  the  bitterest  trial  of  all  was  the 
disloyalty  and  opposition  of  some  of  his  Basuto  helpers 
who  had  gone  over  to  the  Ethiopian  movement  and 
resented,  with  childish  petulance,  all  control.    Nothing 


240    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

could  have  been  more  perfectly  Christlike  than  the 
tender,  fatherly  spirit  in  which  M.  Coillard  bore 
with  them,  and  strove  to  win  them  back  to  reason  and 
charity.  It  was  due  to  this  that  the  trouble  was  less 
acute  and  gave  far  less  trouble  than  in  most  other 
African  missions.  Yet  in  secret  his  heart  bled,  and 
he  marked  his  Bible  at  the  pathetic  text,  ''I  have 
laboured  in  vain  and  spent  my  strength  for  nought  and 
in  vain.'* 

An  episode  of  a  very  different  kind  created  about 
this  time  a  universal  interest  in  Barotsiland.  It  was 
no  less  an  event  than  the  visit  of  King  Lewanika  to 
England  in  1902,  to  attend  the  coronation  of  King 
Edward. 

''Will  you  not  feel  embarrassed  at  your  first  inter- 
view?" asked  M.  Coillard. 

*'0h,  no,"  replied  Lewanika  coolly,  "when  we  Kings 
get  together  we  always  find  plenty  to  talk  about." 

This  visit  made  a  profound  impression  on  Lewanika 
and  his  people.  The  Gambella  who  accompanied  him 
summed  up  his  impressions  of  England  in  the  striking 
words.  ''The  great  ones  honoured  us,  the  believers 
showed  us  affection,  but  the  people  of  the  world  de- 
spised us  because  our  skins  were  black." 

King  Lewanika  himself,  on  the  Sunday  after  his 
return,  came  to  the  mission  service  and  made  a  remark- 
able speech  to  the  people,  in  which  he  said :  *'I  have 
two  words;  the  first  is.  Praise  God  and  bless  Him. 
In  spite  of  all  your  fears  I  have  come  back  to  you  full 
of  life  and  health.  ...  It  is  God  alone  whom  we 
must  praise.  Let  us  talk  no  more  about  our  ancestors, 
they  are  no   Gods.     My   second  word   is   this,   The 


COILLARD  OF  THE  ZAMBESI  241 

Gospel  is  everything.  I  have  seen  many  things,  and 
many  wonderful  things,  but  I  have  also  seen  one 
thing  that  I  cannot  keep  silent  about.  It  is  that  every- 
where it  is  the  Word  of  God  that  guides  kings  and 
their  councils,  which  makes  people  intelligent  through 
their  schools,  and  gives  them  security  and  happiness. 
The  missionaries  told  me  all  this  but  now  I  have  seen 
it.  Barotsi,  let  us  come  out  of  our  darkness.  Come 
and  hear  the  teachings  of  the  missionaries,  send  your 
children  to  school,  that  we  too  may  become  a  nation." 
Unfortunately  the  King  did  not  follow  up  these 
noble  words  by  any  declaration  of  his  own  faith.  On 
the  contrary,  shortly  after,  he  went,  from  motives 
of  public  policy,  and  paid  a  ceremonial  visit  to  the 
shrines  of  his  ancestors.  Nevertheless  the  change  was 
almost  incredible  from  the  savage  warrior  of  twenty 
years  before  to  the  far-travelled  and  experienced  ruler 
who  could  utter  these  enlightened  sentiments.  The 
change  in  his  country  was  no  less  profound,  ''peace 
and  security  instead  of  anarchy  and  bloodshed,  slave- 
raiding  and  slave-trading  abolished,  infanticide,  tor- 
ture, trial  by  ordeal  and  by  witchcraft  abolished,  and 
drunkenness  at  that  time  never  seen;  also,  as  an  indi- 
rect result,  a  great  territory  opened  to  civilised  govern- 
ment without  the  firing  of  a  single  shot." 

X :  Rest 

M.*  Coillard  died  on  May  2y,  1904.  He  had  once 
written  to  a  friend,  ''My  great,  great  desire  is  not  to 
live  a  day  longer  than  I  can  work,"  and  in  the  end  this 
wish  was   fulfilled.     He  was  buried  beside  his  wife 


242    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

under  their  favourite  tree  at  Sefula,  where  they  had 
often  sat  together  and  which  they  had  marked  out 
for  their  last  resting  place.  Over  the  grave  stands 
a  marble  cross  with  the  words,  'To  live  is  Christ,"— a 
literally  true  description  of  those  two  heroic  lives, 
made  perfectly  one  by  their  earthly  love  and,  still  more, 
by  their  heavenly  devotion.  May  we  not  add  with 
equal  truth,  when  we  think  of  their  manifold  toils 
and  wanderings,  ''to  die,  gain/' 


CHAPTER  X 

MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR 

I :  An  Extraordinary  Factory  Lassie 

Mary  Slessor  was  a  wayward  and  original  genius, 
consecrated  to  the  service  of  Christ.  In  Old  Testa- 
ment history  cases  occur  where  the  Spirit  of  God 
comes  mightily  upon  a  man,  sweeping  him  beyond  him- 
self, so  that  natural  timidity  and  weakness  are  over- 
come, weariness  is  forgotten,  and  in  a  holy  frenzy  some 
great  work  of  God  is  wrought.  Some  such  influence  is 
needed  to  explain  the  extraordinary  career  of  Mary 
Slessor.  A  Scots  lassie  of  strong  sense  and  shrewd- 
ness, timid  and  shy  yet  full  of  fun,  with  a  vast  store 
of  nervous  energy  liable  to  discharge  itself  fitfully  in 
bursts  of  jollity  and  daftness,  she  was  captured  and 
possessed  by  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  irresistibly  impelled 
to  do  the  strange  work  she  did.  In  speaking  of  her 
it  is  difficult  to  avoid  the  language  of  extravagance. 
She  is  entitled  to  a  place  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
heroines  of  history,  and  if  goodness  be  counted  an 
essential  element  of  true  greatness,  if  eminence  be 
reckoned  by  love  and  self-sacrifice,  by  years  of  endur- 
ance and  suffering,  by  a  life  of  sustained  heroism  and 
purest  devotion,  it  will  be  found  difficult,  if  not  impos- 
sible, to  name  her  equal. 

243 


2U    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

Mary  Slessor  was  born  December  2,  1848,  in  the 
city  of  Aberdeen,  and  was  the  second  of  a  family  of 
seven  children.  From  her  earliest  years  the  home  was 
made  miserable  by  the  intemperance  of  her  father,  and 
was  only  saved  from  total  wreck  by  the  toil  and  patient 
goodness  of  her  mother.  When  Mary  was  eight  years 
old  the  family  removed  to  Dundee,  in  the  hope  that 
away  from  his  old  companions  the  father  might  make 
a  new  start.  Unhappily  there  was  no  improvement, 
and  Mrs.  Slessor  had  to  go  out  to  work  in  the  factory 
to  earn  a  scanty  livelihood  for  her  children.  Mary 
was  left  in  charge  of  the  house,  but  at  the  age  of 
eleven  she  also  began  work  in  the  factory  as  a  half- 
timer.  In  such  a  home  the  children,  delicate  and  ill- 
fed,  could  not  hope  to  thrive  and  ere  long  three  of 
them  died.  The  father's  habits  grew  worse,  and  Sat- 
urday night  was  a  night  of  terror,  often  spent  by  Mary 
in  wandering  miserably  in  the  streets.  At  length  he 
died  and  left  the  home  saddened  yet  relieved  of  the 
strain  of  his  presence. 

Even  in  the  darkest  years,  however,  there  was  a 
sunnier  side.  The  tenderest  ties  of  affection  bound 
the  mother  and  her  children  together,  and  they  shared 
the  same  warm  Christian  faith.  Sunday  was  the  hap- 
piest day  of  the  week  and  few  of  their  church  friends 
suspected  the  secret  tragedy  of  the  home,  so  jealously 
was  it  guarded.  Their  interest  in  missions  seems  always 
to  have  been  strong.  Mary's  favourite  game  was  to 
teach  an  imaginary  school  of  black  children.  Her  elder 
brother  Robert  used  to  announce  that  he  meant  to  be 
a  missionary  when  he  became  a  man,  and  when  the  boy 
died  the  thought  took  serious  hold  of  his  sister  that 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  245 

she  might  one  day  go  in  his  place  to  the  foreign  field. 

Years  were  to  elapse  before  that  ambition  was  ful- 
filled. Like  many  other  distinguished  missionaries 
Mary  Slessor  served  a  full  term  of  apprenticeship  in 
mission  work  at  home.  She  had  always  been  a  dili- 
gent scholar  in  Sunday  School  and  Bible  Class,  and  an 
eager  reader  of  the  best  books  she  could  lay  hands  on. 
It  was  no  ordinary  factory  lassie  who  studied  Milton's 
Paradise  Lost  and  sat  up  half  the  night  over  Sartor 
Resartus.  Wishart  Church,  to  which  Mary  belonged, 
started  a  mission  in  one  of  the  worst  slums  of  Dundee 
and  she  volunteered  her  services  as  a  worker.  She  was 
small  and  fragile  but  full  of  pluck,  ready  to  do  and 
dare  anything  for  Christ's  sake.  The  mission  rooms 
were  in  sad  disorder. 

*'We  shall  need  a  charwoman  to  give  the  place  a 
thorough  cleaning,"  said  the  superintendent. 

'^Nonsense,"  said  Mary,  "we  will  clean  it  ourselves." 

*'You  ladies  clean  such  a  dirty  hall  1" 

*Tadies !"  laughed  Mary.  ''We  are  no  ladies ;  we  are 
just  ordinary  working  folk." 

And  next  night  she  and  another  teacher  were  hard 
at  it  with  pails  and  scrubbing  brushes. 

At  first  the  mission  workers  had  to  encounter  a 
•certain  amount  of  opposition  and  rough  usage,  especially 
when  they  attempted  to  hold  open  air  meetings.  One 
night  Mary  found  herself  suddenly  surrounded  by  a 
band  of  rough  lads  who  threatened  to  "do  for  her" 
unless  she  promised  to  desist. 

*T  won't,"  said  Mary.    ''You  can  do  what  you  like.'* 

"All  right,  here  goes,"  shouted  the  leader,  and  he 
produced  a  lump  of  lead  attached  to  a  cord  and  began 


246    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

to  swing  it  threateningly  round  her  head.  She  stood 
without  winking  while  the  lead  swished  past  her  brow. 
After  a  few  tense  moments  the  lad  suddenly  threw  it 
away,  exclaiming  with  honest  admiration,  *'We  can't 
force  her,  boys,  she's  game." 

Never  was  a  word  more  fitly  spoken.  Mary  Slessor 
was  what  would  now  be  called  a  good  sport.  She 
had  more  than  a  dash  of  that  daredevil  spirit  which 
leaps  up  in  the  moment  of  peril,  not  fiercely  but  good 
humouredly.  First  and  last  and  always  she  was 
"game."  The  lads  became  her  devoted  followers,  and 
years  after  the  leader  sent  her  the  photograph  of  him- 
self with  his  wife  and  children  in  grateful  remembrance 
of  the  turning  point  of  his  life. 

Mary's  methods  with  her  class  of  boys  were  quite 
unconventional.  On  Saturday  afternoon  she  would 
join  them  in  long  walks  into  the  country  and  was  fore- 
most in  any  fun  that  was  agoing.  Sometimes  an  impish 
spirit  of  mischief  seemed  to  take  possession  of  her. 
Once  when  walking  with  a  girl  friend  she  knocked  at 
some  cottage  doors  and  ran  away.  "Oh,  Mary,  I  am 
shocked  at  you,"  said  her  friend.  To  which  remon- 
strance Mary  gaily  replied: 

"A  little  nonsense  now  and  then 
Is  relished  by  the  wisest  men." 

All  the  week  she  was  hard  at  work  in  the  factory. 
For  years  she  had  been  the  mainstay  of  the  home,  and 
this  continued  till  she  seemed  to  have  settled  down  for 
life  to  the  toilsome  lot  of  a  factory  worker.  It  was 
not  till  her  twenty-eighth  year  that  the  horizon  widened 
and  the  romance  of  her  African  career  began. 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  24*7 

In  1874  the  Christian  world  was  profoundly  moved 
by  the  news  of  Livingstone's  death.  It  marked  an 
epoch  in  modern  missionary  history.  To  Mary  Slessor 
it  brought  an  intense  revival  of  her  missionary  dreams, 
and  she  reviewed  the  possibilities  afresh.  She  felt  the 
time  had  come  when  she  could  be  spared  from  home. 
Besides,  she  hoped  to  be  able  to  send  home  part  of  her 
salary.  Before  volunteering:  for  service  she  asked  her 
mother's  consent.  "My  lassie,"  said  her  mother,  "I'll  ^ 
willingly  let  you  go.  You'll  make  a  fine  missionary,  and 
I'm  sure  God  will  be  with  you."  Calabar  was  the 
mission  field  on  which  her  heart  was  set,  but  in  making 
her  offer  of  service  she  expressed  her  willingness  to  go 
anywhere.  To  her  great  -joy  she  was  accepted  for 
work  in  Calabar,  and  after  some  months  of  training 
in  Edinburgh  she  sailed  for  the  west  coast  of  Africa 
on  the  5th  of  August,  1876. 

II :  In  Dark  Calabar 

Calabar,  or  Old  Calabar  as  it  was  wont  to  be  called, 
was  a  household  word  in  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church.  A  certain  member  of  that  communion,  dimly 
conscious  of  having  heard  the  name  from  childhood, 
asked  a  collector  incredulously,  "Is  the  old  beggar 
living  yet?"  Few  were  so  ignorant  of  what  the  name 
signified,  for  throughout  the  Church  there  was  a  proud 
interest  in  Old  Calabar  as  the  Church's  most  difficult 
and  most  romantic  mission  field. 

In  the  inmost  recesses  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  a 
hundred  miles  east  of  the  Niger,  the  Cross  River  rolls 
its  waters  to  the  sea.    The  surrounding  country  is  now 


248   THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

included  in  the  British  colony  of  Southern  Nigeria.  It 
is  the  ancestral  home  of  the  Negro  proper,  and  in  the 
days  when  the  slave  traders  swept  the  west  coast  of 
Africa,  multitudes  were  torn  away  from  these  regions 
and  shipped  off  to  the  plantations  in  the  West  Indies. 
It  was  among  the  children  of  these  plantation  slaves 
that  the  idea  of  the  Calabar  Mission  first  arose.  The 
United  Presbyterian  Church  had  had  a  mission  in 
Jamaica  since  1824,  and  when  the  slaves  were  emanci- 
pated many  of  them  turned  their  thoughts  back  to  the 
old  home  of  their  people,  and  longed  to  carry  thither 
the  story  of  the  Cross.  In  this  desire  their  missionaries 
warmly  sympathised,  and  one  of  them,  Mr.  Hope  Wad- 
dell,  went  to  Scotland  to  arouse  the  interest  of  the 
home  Church.  Having  secured  the  necessary  help,  he 
sailed  for  Calabar  in  1845,  ^^  ^^s  little  brigantine,  the 
Warree.  After  some  months  spent  there,  he  took  the 
Warree  over  to  Jamaica,  and  brought  thence  an  addi- 
tional band  of  helpers. 

The  Cross  River  cannot  compare  in  volume  with 
those  giants  of  Africa,  the  Nile,  the  Niger,  the  Congo 
or  the  Zambesi,  yet  its  estuary  gives  a  surprising  im- 
pression of  magnitude.  For  the  first  thirty  miles  it 
maintains  a  breadth  of  ten  miles.  Above  that  point, 
though  the  breadth  is  not  diminished,  the  channel  is 
filled  with  a  labyrinth  of  islands.  Beyond  these  islands 
the  Calabar  River  comes  in  from  the  east,  finding  its 
way  by  various  channels  to  the  main  stream.  Near  its 
mouth,  on  opposite  banks  and  with  an  island  between 
them,  lie  Duke  Town  and  Creek  Town.  Here  the 
mission  was  commenced.  When  the  Warree  first  cast 
anchor,  a  few  trading  ships  lay  in  the  river  for  barter 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  249 

with  the  natives.  No  white  trader  was  allowed  to 
settle  on  shore,  and  few  had  any  desire  to  do  so,  for 
the  country  was  regarded  as  a  white  man's  grave. 
"Kings"  were  plentiful  in  Calabar.  Every  town  of 
any  size  had  its  king,  some  of  whom  were  prosperous 
traders  and  men  of  influence,  especially  King  Eyo 
Honesty  of  Creek  Town.  But  for  the  most  part  they 
were  raw  savages  who  sustained  their  kingship  with 
ridiculous  solemnity,  robed  in  a  strip  of  yellow  cotton 
and  crowned  with  a  battered  pot-hat.  The  wealthier 
chiefs  and  traders  had  their  houses  packed  full  of 
sofas  and  mirrors  and  every  variety  of  English  furni- 
ture, which  they  knew  not  how  to  use. 

This  slight  contact  with  civilisation  had  done  noth- 
ing to  banish  the  superstitions  or  mitigate  the  bar- 
barous customs  of  heathenism.  Belief  in  evil  spirits 
was  universal,  witchcraft  and  the  poison  ordeal  were 
practised  everywhere.  The  towns  on  the  river  bank 
offered  human  sacrifices  to  the  spirit  of  the  river  for 
the  success  of  the  fishing.  When  twin  children  were 
born  they  were,  as  quickly  as  possible,  buried  alive, 
and  the  unhappy  mother  killed  or  driven  into  the  bush. 
At  the  death  of  a  chief  or  any  man  of  importance 
there  was  a  cruel  slaughter  among  his  people.  A  huge 
cavern  was  dug  for  a  grave,  and  into  it  the  body  of 
the  chief  was  placed,  resting  on  the  bodies  of  four 
of  his  wives,  bound  hand  and  foot  but  living.  Slaves 
were  then  brought  to  the  grave-side,  their  heads  struck 
off,  and  their  bodies  tumbled  in  till  the  grave  was  full, 
when  all  was  covered  over  with  earth  and  trampled 
down.  To  such  hideous  customs  add  the  horrors  of 
tribal  wars,   of   slavery  and  slave-raiding,   and  there 


^ 


250    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

rises  the  picture  of  a  land  covered  with  gross  darkness 
and  fuM  of  the  habitations  of  cruelty. 

Ill :  ''Blessed  with  an  Efik  Mouth" 

When  Mary  Slessor  arrived  in  Calabar  the  Mission 
had  been  in  existence  for  thirty  years  and  considerable 
progress  had  been  made  in  the  district  immediately 
around  Duke  Town  and  Creek  Town  as  well  as  a  few 
miles  up  the  river,  but  the  interior  of  the  country  had 
yet  to  be  penetrated.  Back  in  the  depths  of  the  primeval 
forest  savage  tribes,  some  of  them  cannibals,  raided 
and  fought  and  wallowed  in  the  abysmal  night  of 
J  heathenism.  Nowhere  was  the  darkness  of  Africa 
more  dense  than  in  the  hinterland  of  the  West  Coast. 

At  first  Mary  was  charmed  with  the  novelty  and 
beauty  of  her  surroundings.  After  the  smoke  of  Dun- 
dee and  the  confinement  of  the  factory  she  revelled 
in  the  glory  of  the  sunshine  and  the  luxuriance  of  the 
tropics.  The  deadly  climate  had  not  yet  laid  its  hand 
on  her,  and  she  vented  her  wild  spirits  in  climbing  the 
biggest  trees  in  the  neighbourhood.  She  claimed  in 
after  years  that  she  had  climbed  every  respectable  tree 
between  Duke  Town  and  Old  Town.  Her  h^me  was 
with  ''Mammy"  and  ''Daddy"  Anderson  in  thei^  house 
on  Mission  Hill  above  Duke  Town,  a  one  time  haunted 
spot  thick  strewn  with  the  decaying  bodies  of  the 
unburied  dead,  but  now  the  headquarters  of  the  Mis- 
sion. Mammy  Anderson  was  a  bit  of  a  disciplinarian, 
and  evidently  found  her  volatile  young  friend  "a  hand- 
ful," as  the  Scots  say.  She  threatened  that  those  who 
did  not  come  for  meals  at  regular  hours  must  go  with- 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  251 

out.  To  Mary  regularity  was  next  to  impossible,  but 
she  found  that,  when  she  transgressed  the  rule,  bananas 
and  biscuits  were  smuggled  to  her,  while  her  dear  old 
Mammy  turned  a  blind  eye. 

Meantime,  with  all  her  quaint  ways  and  oddities, 
Mary  had  plunged  into  the  work  heart  and  soul.  She 
rapidly  acquired  the  language,  and  seemed  to  steep 
herself  in  the  native  mind.  The  people  began  to  say 
that  she  was  ''blessed  with  an  Efik  mouth."  She  visited 
in  their  homes  and  addressed  little  audiences  wherever 
they  could  be  found.  Gradually  the  shuddering  depths 
of  heathenism  were  unveiled  before  her  eyes,  and 
stirred  her  soul  with  infinite  yearning  and  pity.  She 
did  not  escape  her  share  of  west  coast  fever,  and  by 
the  end  of  a  three  years'  strenuous  apprenticeship  she 
was  thoroughly  run  down  and  homesick.  "I  want  my 
home  and  my  mother,"  she  confessed. 

A  short  furlough  in  Scotland  restored  her  physical 
vigour  and  she  returned  to  Calabar  in  1880  with  fresh 
ardour.  To  her  delight  she  was  given  charge  of  the 
work  in  Old  Town  and  was  left  free  to  follow  her 
own  methods.  It  was  a  strange  situation  for  a  Scots 
lassie  to  be  left  solitary  in  a  West  African  town  where 
the  vilest  heathenism  had  combined  with  gin  and  the 
slave  trade  to  make  a  hell  upon  earth.  Yet  this  isola- 
tion was  entirely  to  her  mind,  for  more  reasons  than 
one.  She  was  sending  home  a  large  part  of  her  meagre 
salary  to  her  mother,  and  to  enable  her  to  do  this  she 
lived  almost  entirely  on  native  food.  But  chiefly  she  ^ 
welcomed  the  opportunity  of  living  among  the  people 
till  she  became  like  one  of  themselves.  This  was 
the  secret  of  the  extraordinary  influence  she  acquired. 


252    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

She  loved  the  Africans  and  never  wearied  of  them, 
however  grieved  and  sickened  in  soul  she  might  be  by 
their  heathenish  ways.  Perhaps  the  iniquity  that  lay 
heaviest  on  her  heart  was  the  systematic  murder  of 
v  twin  children.  In  the  benighted  minds  of  the  natives 
the  superstition  was  fimily  rooted  that,  when  twins 
were  born,  the  father  of  one  of  them  must  be  some 
evil  spirit  with;  whom  the  mother  had  formed  an 
unnatural  union.  Both  mother  and  children  were 
regarded  with  the  greatest  horror.  The  woman  was 
driven  out  of  her  village  as  an  accursed  being,  the 
infants  were  made  away  with  at  once,  being  either 
buried  alive  or  crushed  into  an  earthen  pot  and  flung 
into  the  bush.  The  Mission  was  always  on  the  outlook 
for  these  little  waifs  and  many  of  them  were  rescued. 
It  was  useless  to  restore  them  to  their  mother,  for  she 
also  regarded  them  with  aversion  and  would,  if  she 
got  the  chance,  destroy  them  with  her  own  hands. 
The  infants  of  slave  mothers  who  died  were  also  often 
left  to  perish,  and  the  callousness  of  the  people  in 
regard  to  child  life  was  appalling. 

Mary  Slesser's  mother-heart  yearned  over  these  tiny 
morsels  of  black  humanity.  She  gathered  them  in  with 
both  arms  and  soon  her  house  was  full  to  overflowing. 
From  first  to  last  she  saved  in  this  way  scores  of  chil- 
dren, some  of  whom  grew  up  in  her  home  to  love  and 
serve  her  like  daughters.  Other  babies  came  into 
her  hands  too  enfeebled  to  live.  These,  when  they 
died,  she  dressed  and  buried  with  reverent  care,  while 
the  natives  watched  her  with  stupid  wonder,  saying, 
"Why  this  fuss  about  a  dead  child?  She  can  get 
hundreds  more." 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  253 

While  carrying  on  her  work  in  Old  Town,  Mary 
Slessor  constantly  heard  the  call  of  the  unknown,  and 
felt  increasingly  the  fascination  of  the  dark,  untrav- 
ersed  hinterland.  Hers  was  the  restless  spirit  of  the 
pioneer,  ever  reaching  out  eagerly  to  the  regions  beyond. 
She  had  now  no  family  ties  in  the  home  land,  for  her 
mother  and  sister  were  both  dead,  and  her  heart  was 
wholly  given  to  Africa.  To  bury  herself  in  its  darkest 
depths,  to  labour  for  its  uplifting,  to  live  and  die  among 
its  people,  was  her  sole  and  consuming  ambition.  At 
length  in  1886  the  Mission  Council  agreed  that  she 
should  go  up  country  and  break  new  ground  in  Oko- 
yong,  a  district  lying  in  the  angle  between  the  Calabar 
and  Cross  Rivers. 

IV :  Settled  Among  Savages 

Okoyong  was  the  home  of  a  fierce  and  powerful 
tribe,  supposed  to  be  of  Bantu  origin,  for  they  were  of 
better  physique,  lighter  in  colour,  and  with  finer  fea- 
tures than  the  negro  tribes  around  them.  Appalling 
stories  of  their  barbarism  reached  the  coast.  They 
were  a  tribe  of  head-hunters,  with  no  central  authority, 
but  each  village  under  its  own  petty  chief,  all  armed 
and  suspicious  of  one  another,  prone  to  drunkenness 
and  bloody  brawls  in  the  intervals  between  more  serious 
fighting. 

It  was  not  easy  to  secure  the  consent  of  these  wild 
people  to  the  settlement  of  a  missionary  among  them. 
Several  visits  were  paid  to  the  district  but  without 
result.  At  length  in  the  summer  of  1888  Mary  Slessor 
went  up  the  river  herself  and,  making  her  way  to  a 


/ 


254    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

village  called  Ekenge,  she  secured  the  consent  of  the 
chief,  Edem,  to  the  building  of  a  mission  house  there. 
No  doubt  one  influence  leading  to  this  was  the  strange 
friendship  which  sprang  up  at  first  sight  between  Mary 
and  the  chief's  sister,  Ma  Erne.  The  latter,  though 
she  never  became  a  Christian,  remained  a  lifelong  friend 
of  the  Mission,  and  often  sent  secret  warning  when 
any  plot  or  savage  project  was  on  foot.  Mary  returned 
to  Creek  Town  to  prepare  for  a  permanent  settlement 
in  Okoyong. 

On  the  3rd  of  August  she  set  out  on  her  great 
adventure.  It  was  a  dull  grey  morning  with  a  thick 
drizzle  of  rain.  A  few  friends  gathered  at  the  river 
bank  to  see  her  off.  *T  will  always  pray  for  you,"  said 
one,  *'but  you  are  courting  death."  She  stepped  into  the 
canoe  with  five  native  orphans  who  formed  her  house- 
hold,— the  eldest  a  boy  of  eleven,  the  youngest  a  baby 
in  her  arms, — the  paddlers  pushed  off,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  they  had  disappeared  in  the  mist.  It  was 
dark  before  they  reached  the  landing  place  for  Ekenge, 
and  the  village  itself  was  four  miles  back  in  the  forest. 
Taking  the  baby  in  her  arms  and  urging  forward  the 
now  terrified  and  weeping  children  Mary  struck  out 
along  the  forest  path,  leaving  the  men  to  follow  with 
the  loads.  On  reaching  the  village  she  found  it 
deserted  on  account  of  a  funeral  carnival  in  the  next 
village.  She  got  shelter  in  a  hut  and  waited  for  the 
loads  to  arrive.  By  and  by  news  reached  her  that  the 
men  were  tired  and  refused  to  come  on.  Mary  at 
once  rose  up,  retraced  the  four  miles  of  forest  path, 
routed  the  men  out  of  the  canoe,  rallied  and  scolded 
them,  and  brought  them  all  on  to  Ekenge  by  midnight. 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  255 

In  after  years  the  same  resolute  spirit,  full  of  dash  and 
fun,  carried  her  through  a  hundred  toils  and  perils 
where  any  other  woman  would  have  sunk  down  and 
failed. 

She  was  not  long  in  making  herself  at  home.  She 
superintended  and  helped  with  her  own  hands  the  build- 
ing of  a  mud-walled  house.  She  went  about  with  bare 
feet  and  bare  head,  subsisted  on  native  food,  drank 
unfiltered  water,  slept  on  the  ground,  got  drenched 
with  rain,  and  in  short  did  everything  that  would  have 
killed  any  ordinary  person.  She  had  a  wonderful 
way  with  the  natives.  Her  perfect  mastery  of  the 
language,  her  fearlessness  and  good  humour  made  her 
pleadings  irresistible.  She  would  plunge  into  the  thick 
of  a  drunken  brawl  and  separate  the  combatants.  Even 
when  more  serious  fighting  was  afoot  she  often  inter- 
vened with  success.  So  extraordinary  did  her  influence 
become  that,  whenever  any  trouble  arose,  the  instant 
cry  of  the  women  was,  ''Run,  Ma,  run."  And  run 
she  did,  at  any  hour  of  the  night  or  day.  Sometimes, 
if  the  night  alarm  was  urgent,  she  sped  along  the 
forest  path,  clad  only  in  her  night  dress.  *'0f  course," 
she  would  explain  apologetically,  ''they  were  not  to 
know  but  what  it  was  court  dress."  Strangely  enough, 
she  continued  through  it  all  a  naturally  timid  arid 
shrinking  woman,  trembling  in  every  limb  and  praying 
in  agony  as  she  ran.  But  her  tears  were  overpowered 
and  her  sensitive  spirit  was  swept  onward  by  an  irre- 
sistible* passion  of  heavenly  love. 

She  continued  with  ardour  her  work  of  saving  twins 
and  other  outcast  children.  She  had  at  all  times  a  con- 
siderable family  under  her  care,  but  no  matter  how 


11/ 


1^ 


256    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

numerous  they  might  be  there  was  ever  room  in  her 
heart  and  home  for  more.  Sometimes  two  or  three 
tiny  hammocks  would  be  slung  from  the  roof  around 
her  bed  so  that  she  could  conveniently  reach  and  rock 
the  little  sleepers  through  the  night.  Scenes  were  wit- 
nessed that  would  have  moved  a  heart  of  stone.  On 
one  occasion,  hearing  of  the  birth  of  twins  in  a  neigh- 
bouring village,  Mary  ran  to  the  rescue,  but  ere  she  had 
gone  far  she  met  the  unhappy  mother  staggering  along 
the  path,  with  the  babies  in  a  basket  on  her  head  and 
the  whole  village  hounding  her  off  into  the  forest  with 
execrations.  Mary  took  her  home,  and  as  the  poor 
creature  lay  dying  she  cried  out  to  her  husband  for  for- 
giveness, sobbing  in  her  delirium,  "I  did  not  mean  to 
insult  you.'* 

On  another  occasion  Mary  heard  some  women  re- 
marking casually  how  strange  it  was  that  a  baby  should 
live  five  or  six  days  in  the  bush.  On  inquiry  she  found 
that  the  baby  of  a  dead  slave  mother  had  been  cast 
out  about  a  week  before  because  nobody  cared  to  nurse 
it,  and  that  morning,  as  the  women  came  in  to  the 
market,  they  still  heard  its  feeble  cries.  Mary  flew  to 
the  spot  and  found  the  baby,  alive  indeed  but  almost 
eaten  up  by  the  flies  and  insects  that  swarmed  over  it. 
Under  her  care  it  recovered  and  proved  a  singularly 
sweet  and  pretty  little  girl.  Mary  gave  the  child  her 
own  name  and  lived  to  see  her  happily  married  to 
David,  an  educated  native  from  Lagos,  and  the  proud 
driver  of  a  Government  motor  car. 

Another  great  battle  had  to  be  fought  against  heathen 
funeral  customs.  Only  a  few  months  before  Mary 
Slessor  went  to  Okoyong  the  funeral  of  a  petty  chief 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  257 

was  celebrated  by  the  burial  along  with  him  of  four 
free  wives,  sixteen  slaves  and  twenty  boys  and  girls. 
The  death  of  every  person  of  importance  was  signalised 
by  drunkenness,  bloodshed,  and  the  poison  ordeal. 
Often  Mary  Slessor,  taking  her  own  life  in  her  hand, 
stood  between  the  living  and  the  dead.  One  day  Mr. 
Ovens,  the  carpenter  from  Duke  Town  who  had  been 
sent  up  to  repair  her  house,  was  working  on  the  roof 
when  he  heard  a  wild  cry  from  the  forest.  Mary  was 
off  in  a  moment,  and  following  he  found  her  beside 
the  unconscious  form  of  a  young  man.  It  was  Etim, 
the  eldest  son  of  the  chief  Edem,  lying  crushed  under 
a  heavy  log.  For  a  fortnight  Mary  nursed  him,  but  in 
vain. 

"Sorcerers  have  killed  my  son,  and  they  must  die," 
exclaimed  the  chief  fiercely.    "Bring  the  witch  doctor." 

He  came  and,  after  some  incantations,  laid  the  guilt 
on  a  neighbouring  village  near  the  scene  of  the  acci- 
dent. Soon  a  dozen  men  and  women  were  in  chains 
awaiting  execution.  Meantime  Mary  had  not  been 
idle.  To  propitiate  the  people  and  maintain  a  grip 
of  the  situation  she  took  charge  of  the  funeral  arrange- 
ments, and  proceeded  to  carry  them  through^  with 
thoroughgoing  barbaric  splendour.  She  arrayed  the 
body  in  the  finest  clothes  she  could  procure,  while  the 
head,  after  being  shaved  and  painted  yellow,  was 
crowned  with  a  tall  hat  adorned  with  gorgeous  plumes. 
Thus  attired  the  body  was  seated  in  an  arm  chair  under 
an  umbrella,  with  a  whip  and  walking  stick  in  both 
hands,  and  a  mirror  in  front  to  delight  the  spirit  of  the 
dead  man  with  the  reflection  of  all  his  glory.     The 


258    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

natives  danced  in  ecstasy  at  the  sight.  But  the  danger 
was  not  yet  past. 

"This  is  going  to  be  a  serious  business,"  said  Mary 
to  Mr.  Ovens. 

"We  can't  leave  these  prisoners  for  a  moment.  I'll 
watch  beside  them  all  night,  and  you'll  take  the  day." 

Then  the  weary  vigil  began.  The  chief  had  great 
respect  for  the  white  Ma,  but  he  was  determined  to 
honour  his  son  with  blood.  Mary  pled  the  cause  of 
the  prisoners  and  one  or  two  were  released.  She  got 
Mr.  Ovens  to  make  a  coffin  for  the  dead  boy,  and  two 
missionaries  were  hurried  up  from  Creek  Town  with 
a  magic  lantern  to  honour  the  occasion  still  further. 
To  uninstructed  eyes  it  would  all  have  seemed  a  bit 
of  melodramatic  farce,  but  in  reality  it  was  a  grim 
struggle  for  human  lives.  And  in  the  end  she  won. 
The  last  of  the  prisoners  was  released  and  only  a  cow 
was  sacrificed  at  the  grave.  It  was  the  first  chief's 
grave  in  Okoyong  that  was  not  saturated  with  human 
blood. 

</  Gradually  her  sway  over  the  tribe  increased  till  she 
became  by  common  consent  an  arbiter  in  all  sorts  of 
disputes.  Sometimes  she  would  sit  a  whole  day  quietly 
knitting  while  she  listened  to  the  interminable  speeches 
of  the  opposing  parties,  so  that  they  might  feel  that 
they  had  been  allowed  to  say  their  utmost  before  she 
gave  her  decision. 

V:  Essential  Justice 

In  1 891  the  British  Government,  which  was  at  that 
time  extending  its  authority  into  the  interior,  recog- 
nised her  unique  position  and  appointed  her  Vice-consul 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  259 

for  Okoyong.  It  was  a  post  for  which  she  had  no 
liking,  but  she  accepted  it  in  the  belief  that  she  could 
thereby  help  to  tide  her  people  over  the  difficult  transi- 
tion time  that  lies  between  savagery  and  civilised  gov- 
ernments. In  this  she  was  singularly  successful,  and 
was  able  to  report  in  1894:  *'No  tribe  was  formerly  so 
feared  because  of  their  utter  disregard  of  human  life, 
but  human  life  is  now  safe.  No  chief  ever  died  with- 
out the  sacrifice  of  many  lives,  but  this  custom  has 
now  ceased.  Some  chiefs,  gathered  for  palaver  at  our 
house,  in  commenting  on  the  wonderful  change,  said, 
*Ma,  you  white  people  are  God  Almighty.  No  other 
power  could  have  done  this.'  " 

With  the  Government  officials  she  was  always  on 
the  best  of  terms,  and  one  of  them  has  given  a  lively 
description  of  her  personal  appearance  and  original 
methods  of  court  work.  *'A  little  frail  old  lady  with  a 
lace  shawl  over  her  head  and  shoulders  (that  must,  I 
think,  have  been  a  concession  to  a  stranger,  for  I  never 
saw  the  thing  again),  swaying  herself  in  a  rocking 
chair  and  crooning  to  a  black  baby  in  her  arms.  I  re- 
member being  struck — most  unreasonably — by  her  very 
strong  Scotch  accent.  Her  welcome  was  everything 
kind  and  cordial.  I  had  had  a  long  march,  it  was  an 
appallingly  hot  day,  and  she  insisted  on  complete  rest 
before  we  proceeded  to  the  business  of  the  court.  It 
was  held  just  below  her  house.  Her  compound  was 
full  of  litigants,  witnesses,  and  onlookers,  and  it  was 
impressive  to  see  how  deep  was  the  respect  with  which 
she  was  treated  by  them  all.  She  was  again  in  her 
rocking  chair,  surrounded  by  several  ladies  and  babies- 
in-waiting,  nursing  another  infant. 


1^ 


260    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

"I  have  had  a  good  deal  of  experience  of  Nigerian 
courts  of  various  kinds,  but  have  never  met  one  which 
better  deserves  to  be  termed  a  Court  of  Justice  than 
that  over  which  she  presided.  The  litigants  emphati- 
cally got  justice — sometimes,  perhaps,  like  Shylock, 
"more  than  they  desired" — and  it  was  essential  justice, 
unhampered  by  legal  technicalities.  One  decision  I 
recall — I  have  often  wished  that  I  could  follow  it  as  a 
precedent.  A  sued  B  for  a  small  debt.  B  admitted 
owing  the  money,  and  the  Court  (that  is  Ma)  ordered 
him  to  pay  accordingly.  But  she  added,  *A  is  a  rascal. 
He  treats  his  mother  shamefully,  he  neglects  his  chil- 
den;  only  the  other  day  he  beat  one  of  his  wives,  yes 
and  she  was  B's  sister  too;  his  farm  is  a  disgrace,  he 
seldom  washes,  and  then  there  was  the  palaver  about 
C's  goat  a  month  ago.  Oh,  of  course,  A  did  not  steal 
it,  he  was  found  not  guilty,  wasn't  he? — all  the  same 
the  affair  was  never  satisfactorily  cleared  up,  and  he 
did  look  unusually  sleek  just  about  then.  On  the  other 
hand  B  was  thrifty  and  respectable.  So,  before  B 
paid  the  amount  due,  he  would  give  A  a  good,  sound 
caning  in  the  presence  of  everybody.'  " 

VI :  The  Church  of  Christ  in  Okoyong 

Amid  these  varied  labours  and  struggles  she  never 
ceased  to  plead  with  loving  insistence  the  claims  of 
Christ.  She  conducted  service,  taught  the  children 
in  school,  and  visited  the  people  in  their  homes.  She 
was  no  organiser,  as  she  herself  well  knew.  Indeed, 
so  absorbed  in  mind  was  she  and  so  irregular  in  habits, 
that  not  infrequently  she  lost  count  of  the  days  of  the 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  261 

week,  and  would  be  found  mending  the  roof  of  the 
house  on  Sunday  and  holding  Church  service  on  Mon- 
day.  But  one  thing  never  failed,  her  spirit  of  pas- 
sionate devotion  and  unwearying  love. 

In  1896,  under  the  compulsion  of  ill  health  and  yield- 
ing to  the  urgency  of  the  Committee,  she  came  to  Scot- 
land on  furlough,  bringing  with  her  no  fewer  than 
four  of  her  black  children.  Their  presence  excited 
much  interest  throughout  the  Church,  but  Mary  her- 
self, who  could  face  a  mob  of  savages,  proved  to  be  the 
most  timid  of  missionary  speakers,  and  absolutely 
refused  to  proceed  if  a  man  appeared  in  the  audience. 
Even  the  inevitable  chairman  was  only  tolerated  if  he 
kept  out  of  sight.  Children,  however,  white  as  well 
as  black,  were  her  unfailing  delight  and  she  made  troops 
of  little  friends  everywhere.  Speaking  of  Okoyong 
she  expressed  her  feeling  that  her  work  there  was 
done.  The  time,  she  said,  had  come  for  a  Church  to 
be  organised  in  the  district,  and  for  her  to  move  farther 
on  into  the  interior.  It  was  three  years  before  this 
desire  was  gratified. 

Returning  to  Calabar  she  resumed  her  work  in  Oko- 
yong. Her  last  years  there  were  saddened  by  the  loss  ^Z 
of  many  of  her  old  friends  through  an  epidemic  of 
smallpox.  She  had  removed  from  Ekenge  to  a  more 
populous  centre  at  Akpap,  and  she  turned  her  old  house 
into  a  hospital.  Many  of  the  people  fled  and  left  her 
to  fight  the  disease  single-handed.  Her  own  chief, 
Edeni,  caught  the  infection  and  she  nursed  him  till  he 
died.  With  her  own  hands  she  made  his  coffin,  dug 
his  grave,  and  buried  him.  Next  day  two  missionaries 
arrived  from  Creek  Town  and  found  her  completely 


262    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

prostrate.  When  they  visited  her  house  at  Ekenge 
they  found  it  full  of  corpses,  and  not  a  living  soul  near. 
The  epidemic  passed  and  her  work  resumed  its 
normal  course.  At  last  she  had  the  joy  of  seeing  a 
little  church  organised,  and  of  sitting  at  the  Lord's 
Table  with  a  company  of  those  whom  she  had  led  out 
of  heathen  darkness  into  the  Christian  light. 

VII :  The  Pioneer  of  the  Enyong  Creek 

Meantime  big  events  were  happening  in  Calabar. 
The  country  to  the  west  of  the  Cross  River  had  never 
been  penetrated  by  the  white  man.  Powerful  cannibal 
tribes  occupied  the  whole  of  the  Ibo  country  right 
across  to  the  Niger.  Little  was  known  of  them  save 
the  ominous  fact  that  they  poured  down  the  Enyong 
Creek  a  continuous  stream  of  slaves  to  the  great  slave 
market  at  Itu.  A  renowned  centre  of  their  barbarous 
worship  was  at  Arochuku,  near  the  head  of  the  Creek, 
where  stood  a  famous  idol  known  as  the  Long  Ju-ju. 
Pilgrims  to  this  shrine  were  often  seized  and  offered 
in  sacrifice  or  sold  as  slaves.  In  1902  a  British  force 
marched  to  Arochuku,  subdued  the  tribes,  and  demol- 
ished the  Ju-ju.  Thus  a  vast  and  densely  populated 
country  was  thrown  open  to  the  Gospel. 

Mary  Slessor  felt  an  irresistible  call  to  go  in  and 
possess  the  land.  *'I  feel  drawn  on  and  on,"  she  said, 
"by  the  magnetism  of  this  land  of  dense  darkness  and 
mysterious  weird  forest."  The  Mission  Council,  rec- 
ognising her  exceptional  gifts,  gave  her  a  roving  com- 
mission to  pioneer  along  the  line  of  the  Enyong  Creek. 
At  the  age  of  fifty- four  she  set  out  on  this  new  adven- 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  263 

ture,  with  the  same  fervour  of  spirit  as  she  had  entered 
Okoyong,  and  she  was  spared  for  twelve  years  more 
of  toil  and  achievement.  She  established  herself  first 
at  Itu,  the  old  slave  market  at  the  mouth  of  the  Creek, 
and  later,  when  a  medical  missionary  was  settled  there, 
she  pushed  on  up  country.  Now  that  the  power  of  the 
Ju-ju  had  been  broken  the  people  everywhere  were 
crying  out  for  teachers,  not  from  any  pure  thirst  for  the 
Gospel  but  to  learn  if  possible  the  secret  of  the  white 
man's  power.  It  was  impossible  to  meet  the  demand, 
and  Mary  could  only  travel  incessantly  along  the  Creek, 
building  rest-huts  for  herself  here  and  there,  and 
endeavouring  in  this  way  to  keep  in  touch  with  the 
seekers  after  light.  Some  of  her  own  boys  and  girls 
from  Okoyong  gave  assistance  as  teachers.  The  prog- 
ress made  was  remarkable  and  included  some  of  the 
most  romantic  episodes  in  her  career. 

On  one  of  her  earliest  voyages  down  the  Creek,  a 
canoe  shot  out  from  the  bank  and  she  was  invited  to  go 
ashore  at  a  place  called  Akani  Ohio.  Here  she  was 
taken  to  the  house  of  a  chief,  Onoyom  by  name,  who 
told  her  a  touching  story  of  his  career.  As  a  boy 
he  had  once  seen  a  Calabar  missionary,  and  afterwards 
he  had  heard  something  of  the  Christian  religion  from 
an  ex-teacher  of  the  mission  who  had  fallen  into  sin 
and  drunkenness.  Now  he  was  eager  to  build  a  church 
for  his  people.  In  due  time  the  church  was  built  at  a 
cost  of  £300,  provided  by  Onoyom  himself,  and  every 
Sunday  morning  the  Union  Jack  was  hoisted  to  inti- 
mate to  all  passers  by  upon  the  Creek  that  no  trading 
was  to  be  done  that  day.  When,  by  and  by,  the  chief 
and  his  wife  were  baptised,  and  Mary  sat  with  them  and 


264   THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

other  converts  at  the  Lord's  Table,  it  was  to  her  "a 
foretaste  of  heaven/'  "Akani  Ohio,"  she  said,  **is 
now  linked  on  to  Calvary.  I  am  sure  our  Lord  will 
never  keep  it  from  my  mother." 

Her  remarkable  influence  over  the  natives  was  again 
recognised  by  the  Government,  and  in  1905  she  was 
asked  to  become  President  of  the  native  court  for  the 
district  around  Itu.  She  consented  to  undertake  the 
work  but  refused  the  salary,  which  accordingly  was 
paid  into  the  Mission  funds.  She  ably  discharged 
the  duties  of  her  office  till  1909,  when  she  was 
compelled  by  failing  strength  to  resign  the  post.  She 
continued,  however,  to  preserve  the  happiest  relations 
with  the  young  Government  officials,  who  treated  their 
Ma  with  a  teasing  affection  that  masked  a  deep  respect. 
She  was  by  common  consent  the  mother  of  the  country, 
and  her  fame  had  travelled  all  along  the  West  Coast. 
Her  vitality  and  youthfulness  of  spirit  were  a  con- 
tinual marvel.  Receiving  a  goat  in  a  present  at  a  cer- 
tain village  she  led  it  home  through  the  forest  gaily 
singing,  "Mary  had  a  little  lamb."  She  might  seem 
eccentric  and  a  bit  of  a  character,  but  no  one  who  knew 
her  could  fail  to  be  impressed  by  her  devotion  and 
strong  sense. 

One  of  her  Government  friends  having  presented  her 
with  a  bicycle  she  learned  to  ride,  and  while  laughing 
at  herself  as  a  silly  old  woman  on  a  wheel,  she  rejoiced 
in  the  help  it  gave  her  in  her  work.  Soon,  however, 
she  was  forbidden  to  cycle,  and  in  her  last  years  she 
was  pushed  along  in  a  kind  of  a  light  rickshaw  when 
too  feeble  to  walk.  Much  of  her  work  was  done  by 
canoe,  and  when  she  was  asked  how  she  was  able  to 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  265 

endure  the  long  voyages  on  the  Creek,  she  confessed 
that  she  took  as  big  a  dose  of  laudanum  as  she  dared, 
and  tried  to  sleep  it  out. 

VIII :  The  Happiest  IVonum  in  All  the  World 

In  19 1 2  her  health  seemed  completely  shattered,  and 
her  friends  arranged  for  a  short  holiday  in  the  Canary 
Islands.  She  consented  in  the  hope  that  it  might  restore 
her  strength  for  another  year  or  two  of  service.  It 
was  the  one  perfect  holiday  of  her  life,  and  the  story 
of  it  reads  like  an  idyll.  Everybody  conspired  to  sur- 
round her  with  love  and  care.  She  was  a  child  in  money 
matters,  and  her  little  cash^  box  was  passed  on  from 
Duke  Town  to  the  boat,  from  the  boat  to  the  hotel,  and 
back  again  to  Duke  Town  without  suffering  any 
diminution  in  its  contents.  She  on  her  part  made 
friends  everywhere.  A  frail  little  old  lady,  with  a 
face  wrinkled  like  yellow  parchment,  she  endeared  her- 
self to  all  by  her  simplicity  and  sympathy  and  love 
of  fun.  ''What  love  is  wrapped  round  me,"  she  wrote. 
"It  is  simply  wonderful.  I  can't  say  anything  else. 
.  .  .  Oh,  if  I  only  get  another  day  to  work.  I  hope 
it  will  be  more  full  of  earnestness  and  blessing  than 
the  past." 

Shortly  after  her  return  to  Calabar  she  received 
from  the  King  the  silver  cross  of  the  Order  of  St. 
John  of  Jerusalem,  an  honour,  as  the  official  letter 
stated,*  "only  conferred  on  persons  professing  the 
Christian  faith  who  are  eminently  distinguished  for 
philanthropy."  The  presentation  was  made  at  Duke 
Town,  and  Mary  was  glad  to  escape  back  to  the  Creek, 


266    THE  MISSIONARY  HEROES  OF  AFRICA 

declaring  she  could  "never  face  the  world  again  after 
all  this  blarney." 

Her  mind  was  ever  busy  with  new  projects.  She 
founded  an  industrial  home  for  women  and  girls  near 
Itu.  She  sent  urgent  appeals  home  for  new  workers. 
She  pressed  the  advantage  of  using  motor  cars  to 
increase  the  mobility  of  the  missionaries.  If  they  were 
profitable  for  Government  work,  she  argued,  why  not 
v/  for  Christ's  work?  For  herself,  she  kept  moving  inces- 
santly from  place  to  place  until  at  last  she  persuaded 
every  town  of  any  consequence  in  the  district  to  receive 
a  Christian  teacher.  On  the  surrender  of  Ibam,  the  last 
town  to  hold  out,  she  sat  down  on  the  floor  of  her  hut, 
and  leaning  her  back  against  the  mud  wall,  she  wrote 
to  her  friends  in  Scotland  that  she  was  "the  happiest 
and  most  grateful  woman  in  all  the  world." 

Her  long  day  of  service  was  almost  done.  The  last 
blow  was  the  war.  The  news  reached  her  at  Odore 
Ikpe,  her  farthest  outstation,  five  miles  beyond  the  head 
of  the  Creek,  where  she  was  building  a  house.  After 
reading  of  the  invasion  of  Belgium  and  the  retreat 
from  Mons  she  tried  to  rise  from  her  seat  but  found 
she  had  lost  the  power.  Her  native  girls  put  her  to 
bed  where  she  lapsed  into  unconsciousness  and  seemed 
on  the  point  of  death.  Thoroughly  alarmed  the  girls 
had  her  carried  the  five  miles  to  the  Creek  and  put 
into  a  canoe  which  took  her  down  to  Itu.  Here  she 
lay  on  the  ground  at  the  landing  place  till  the  doctor 
came  down  and  had  her  carried  to  her  house.  Under 
his  care  she  rallied  for  a  time.  But  the  war  was  ever 
in  her  thoughts  like  a  nightmare.  "Oh,  if  I  were 
thirty  years  younger,"   she  cried,   "and  if  I  were  a 


MARY  SLESSOR  OF  CALABAR  267 

man!"  She  persisted  in  returning  to  her  work,  though 
when  conducting  service  in  the  little  church  she  had 
to  remain  seated  and  to  lean  hard  on  the  communion 
table.  This  she  continued  to  do  by  sheer  force  of  will 
even  to  the  last  Sunday  of  her  life. 

She  died  on  Wednesday,  the  13th  of  January,  191 5, 
just  as  the  dawn  was  breaking.  Her  body  was  taken 
down  the  river  by  loving  hands  and  buried  in  the 
cemetery  on  Mission  Hill  at  Duke  Town.  As  the  pro- 
cession approached  the  grave  amid  the  wailing  of  the 
people,  an  aged  native  woman  struck  the  right  note. 

''Kiitua  oh,  kutua  oh,"  she  exclaimed.  "Do  not  cry, 
do  not  cry.  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow. 
Ma  was  a  great  blessing."  It  was  a  simple  but  perfect 
eulogy.  Mary  Slessor  was  indeed  a  great  blessing. 
She  gave  to  heathen  Africa  a  new  conception  of 
womanhood,  and  to  the  world  at  large  an  imperishable 
example  of  Christian  devotion. 


THE   END 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Soeer  Librar- 


1    1012  01086  0148 


DATE    DUE 

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